Dragon-Verse: Series Two
by milady dragon
Summary: AU - This is the Second Series of stories retelling of the adventures of Captain Jack Harkness and his Second, the ancient dragon called Ianto Jones.
1. Partners in Every Way - Chapter One

Partners in Every Way - Chapter One

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, sorry.

Author's note: Here we go, the first story in Dragon-Verse: Series Two! This is, of course, based on the episode "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" and will guest star the irrepressible John Hart. This takes place directly after the story, A Time of Rest.

Hope you enjoy!

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**_14 June 2008_**

_"Hey kids," Jack asked, grinning, "did you miss us?"_

It had, in retrospect, been a silly question, but then Jack really did love an entrance.

"Were you gone?" Owen snarked, rolling his eyes and going back to looking after the gunshot victim. Knowing the medic the way he did, Jack didn't take offense at all. It was the way Owen showed he cared.

Gwen didn't look at all impressed; in fact, she looked furious as she tried to calm the woman she'd been protecting. Jack thought he knew her well enough that he was fully expecting to get an earful at some point, probably sooner rather than later.

Toshiko though favoured him with a welcoming smile, and gave him and then Ianto a brief hug before going back to starting clean-up.

He felt Ianto's hand on his shoulder. "You can't win them all," the dragon's voice breathed a teasing burst of air against his ear.

Jack couldn't help by shiver a little. "But I have to keep trying."

"You wouldn't be you if you didn't," Ianto said playfully.

The unmistakable sound of the police arriving brought a sigh to Jack's lips. "You mind talking to the local coppers? I hear the dulcet tones of the pandas coming closer even as we flirt with each other."

Ianto smirked. "Of course, Sir."

"You know what that does to me!" Jack called out to the dragon's retreating back.

A single shimmy of the hips was Ianto's response.

It was now time for the Captain to come out and play. Jack found he'd missed it.

He knelt down next to Owen, watching as he worked over the male victim. There was too much blood, and Jack was worried that they might have to cover up yet another death, and on his first night back, too. "He going to be okay?" he asked Owen concernedly.

"Think so, although he'd gonna be laid up for a while. He's lost a lot of blood."

Jack was relieved. "Ianto will send the EMT's in as soon as they arrive." He stood, and watched Gwen with the mother and daughter, showing that compassion that Jack had known she'd have…and yet didn't seem to show around her colleagues. It was really sad that Gwen could project caring toward complete strangers, and yet so disregard her own teammates. Unless something had changed over the linear months that he'd been gone…but then, Jack was certain Ianto would have mentioned it.

Seeing that Gwen appeared to have that all under control he went to help Toshiko with the corpse. "It's good to have you both back," she murmured, as she scanned the corpse with her PDA.

"You know," he admitted, "it's really good to be back. Our family is back together again."

Toshiko smiled, and looked as if she was going to say something, when her scanner began to beep. She frowned. "There's something giving off an energy reading in his right trouser pocket."

Jack used the pair of gloves that she produced from her jacket to root around inside the Blowfish's trousers…which was not at all as sexy as it seemed. His hand clutched what felt like metal, and he pulled whatever it was out, revealing a dull metal pyramid. "Getting anything from it?" he asked.

"No, it's shielded. Just the energy that gave it away."

He touched the comm. in his ear. "Ianto, can you bring in a containment box? And a body bag while you're at it."

_"I'm on it,"_ the dragon answered.

"We'll get this back and study it later," Jack went on, toggling off the comm.

'You have any ideas?" Toshiko asked, continuing her scan.

"No, afraid not. It could be anything."

"Lovely. Not only was this fish high, it could have been carrying around something potentially dangerous."

Ianto brought in the requested box and bag, and Jack locked the pyramid-shaped device inside. Ianto carried it back out to the SUV, while the captain and Toshiko wrestled the Blowfish into the body bag, zipping it up just as the EMT's arrived to take over for Owen.

The team worked well together, and Jack felt a rush of pride at them all. It obviously hadn't taken Toshiko and Owen long to reintegrate into what passed for normal within Torchwood, and they'd managed to fall back onto their usual routines even after the year they'd all just suffered through. Jack hoped that he and Ianto would do as well, although he was pretty certain they would.

It took about two hours to get the scene cleared, the witnesses Retconned, the father to the hospital, and the house looking as if a drug-addled kid had broken in, looking for money to pay for his next fix.

It wasn't too far from the truth, considering the Blowfish had been on cocaine. Jack never could quite understand the need to go to a primitive planet and try every recreational drug under the rainbow. He wondered if he'd ever been that young and stupid…and realized that yes, he had been.

He'd grown up. He wondered exactly when that had happened.

Together, he and Ianto got the Blowfish into the back of the SUV, and they followed it in Ianto's car back to the Hub. Jack hadn't known just how much he'd missed the place until they were pulling into the car park. "It's really like coming back to where we belong," he murmured, as Ianto pulled into his customary spot.

"I felt like that when I came back from my leave after Lisa," Ianto admitted, turning in his seat. "Ddraig Llyn might be home to us, but this…this is where our family is."

Jack met his mate's gaze. He'd seen those eyes look as if they were as ancient as the world, and at other times twinkling like the twenty-six year-old that his human body resembled. He'd seen them in their human aspect, as they were now, and in the cat-slitted form belonging to his true form. But there, in that car, what he saw made him lose himself in such a tangle of emotion that he couldn't pull any of them apart to examine them.

He saw eternity in those blue eyes.

Jack couldn't help it. He looped his hand around the back of Ianto's neck and pulled him forward, pressing his lips against his mate's, losing himself in the intimacy of the moment.

The kiss didn't last long, because they were interrupted by a sharp rapping against the passenger side window. Jack pulled away reluctantly, turning to glare at Owen, who was making exaggerated gagging expressions at them.

"This corpse isn't gonna get to the autopsy bay by itself," Owen said through the glass. "And you both don't need to flaunt the fact that you're both loved up. Now, get your arses out here and give us a hand." With that, he walked back to the SUV, standing next to the open boot.

Jack sighed. "Why do I suddenly feel like a parent who just got told off by their son?"

"As long as you're the mother," Ianto teased.

"Haven't we had this conversation before?" Jack groused, opening his door.

"We have. And I seem to recall we also came to the conclusion that Owen is very much your son."

Jack laughed. "Just don't tell Alice, all right? She might disinherit us both for bringing such a brother into the world."

The dragon simply rolled his eyes, and got out of the car.

"Let's get things taken care of," Jack said, climbing from the vehicle and addressing his waiting team. "Then let's call it a night. We can handle debriefings and paperwork later."

"Sounds like a plan," Owen agreed. "I don't think fishface here will go off before I get a chance to go sushi chef on him."

Gwen made a face. "That's disgusting."

"That's our Owen," Ianto said, joining the medic at the rear of the SUV. "Let's get our newest 'guest' into the freezer so we can all head home."

Jack followed the pair as they manhandled the body into the Hub, and down to the autopsy bay. He split off and went into his office, grinning as he saw that nothing had changed in the time he'd been gone. Everything was just as he remembered it, and he silently thanked Ianto for leaving things as they'd been.

He moved around the desk, sinking into the chair. Jack couldn't help but smile as he ran his hands along the chair's arms, feeling the worn leather under his fingers. So much had occurred since the last time he'd sat there, and yet it was as familiar as if it had been yesterday.

Jack looked out over the Hub. Toshiko was at her station, entering something into her terminals, the containment box that held the metal pyramid on the desk at her right hand. He couldn't see Owen or Ianto; most likely they were still in the autopsy bay, putting the Blowfish to bed for the night. He couldn't see Gwen either, and he hoped she was already gone.

Leaning back in his chair, Jack sighed, letting his eyes raise to the ceiling. That was also familiar, the bedrock that the Hub had been carved from, stained with age and damp. He'd have to go down into his bunker at some point, just to check it out, but he lived more at Ianto's anymore than the Hub. They'd even talked about him moving in full-time, back during their week off, and Jack had to admit he wasn't at all adverse to the idea. Being with his dragon every day was what Jack wanted more than anything.

"Jack?"

He came out of his thoughts. Sitting upright, Jack smiled slightly at Gwen, who was standing just inside the door. "Hello Gwen," he greeted her. "I thought maybe you'd gone home."

"Not yet." She stepped further into the office.

Jack could tell by her expression that something was on her mind. He really didn't want to talk to her, but it would be best to get whatever she wanted to say out in the open.

However, that didn't stop him from trying to derail her a bit.

"Ianto tells me that Rhys asked you to marry him," he said. "Congratulations."

Gwen looked surprised at the comment. "Yes, he did."

"Did he get down on one knee?" Jack asked.

"He tried to," she answered, smiling slightly, "but then he got a twinge in his back and had to lie on the settee. That's when he popped the question."

"And you said yes," he grinned. "That's fantastic."

"Well, no one else will have me."

Jack barely hid his flinch. When Ianto had told him that Gwen seemed to have settled down and had gotten engaged, he'd been genuinely happy for her. He'd thought that Gwen had finally made her choice, and had realized that she'd loved Rhys as much as he obviously loved her.

This wasn't the response he'd been expecting.

"So you don't love him?" he demanded.

Her eyes widened. "I didn't say that!"

"You intimated it. Gwen, if you don't love Rhys, then you shouldn't have said yes to him." There might have been a time when getting into a relationship with someone would have been a cavalier act for him, but not anymore, especially not after the words he and Ianto had shared on the _Valiant_. And marriage was something else entirely; it might have been slightly different when he came from, but the very act of commitment was respected and never entered into lightly. "However," he went on, "that's none of my business. I just hope you and Rhys will be very happy."

"Thank you," she said, not happy at all. "I'm sure we will be." Gwen moved up to the desk, resting her fists against the surface, leaning over him. Jack wondered if she knew that her breasts were on full display, or if she thought she was being intimidating. "Right now, we have other things to discuss."

"Do we really, Gwen?" He leaned back, his demeanour calm.

He and Ianto had known there would be a confrontation. Gwen was the only one who didn't know what had happened, how they'd survived a year that never happened. She didn't have the background that the others did. All she knew was that Jack had gone, and the captain knew this was what she would be furious about.

"You left us, Jack," she accused. "We knew nothing!"

Jack frowned. "You might not have known anything, but Ianto was very aware of where I'd gone."

"But you didn't tell the rest of us!"

"Wrong, Gwen. I did. I explained to each of you that I was waiting for my Doctor. That I needed answers as to why I couldn't die. It's not my fault you apparently disregarded that." He really didn't want to be angry with her, since she was speaking out of ignorance, but he couldn't help it. "I spent over one hundred years on this planet, doing Torchwood's dirty work. If anyone deserves any sort of peace, it's me."

"So you were being selfish!"

"Yes, I was." Jack glared at her. "I was being selfish. I needed to know why I'm the way I am. But I did consider what I was doing, and it was Ianto who helped me decide to go, because he knew it would eat away at me if I let the opportunity pass."

"He had no right to encourage you leaving. We needed you here."

"From what I've been told, yes…you did need me. But you also did just fine on your own. Ianto was a very capable leader and he got you all through everything that happened while I was gone…just as I knew he would." He stared her down. "I've built this team with the exact knowledge that, one day, the Doctor would come, and that I would be gone. You are all quite capable, and I had no doubts that you would all do an exemplary job while I was away."

Gwen scoffed. She straightened, crossing her arms over her chest. "Right…and when you were off gallivanting with your Doctor, did you even consider what was going on here? What your so-called Second was up to?"

Jack frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

"With all that nonsense about Great Dragons and Friends and all that! He's practically brainwashed poor Tosh, and Owen's no better! He's got them believing that there's some sort of mystical creatures out there, and that they have insight into the future! And he followed their so-called advice to London, and nothing happened!"

"Were you in London?" the Captain demanded, rising. Now he was truly angry; he really wanted to cut her some slack, but not when she was questioning the word of his mate and of the Great Dragons. "Do you have any clue as to what went on there?"

"Of course I do! I've seen the reports. There was no alien invasion, only Saxon going nuts and killing the American President, and then being killed in turn. Nothing happened, Jack. There was nothing!"

Jack found himself grinding his teeth. _She didn't know, she only heard the cover that UNIT put out…_ "Then you don't know the full story, and I won't hear you questioning Ianto or the Great Dragons ever again. There are more things out there in the Universe than you could ever imagine, and if you don't open your mind to new possibilities you won't last. Now, I suggest you gather your things and head home to Rhys. And at least try to remember exactly why you're marrying him."

Gwen opened her mouth to say something else, and Jack was never more grateful to hear the Rift alert go off. He darted past her, and toward Tosh's station. "What have we got?" he asked, putting a hand on her back.

So much for getting any rest tonight.


	2. Partners in Every Way - Chapter Two

Partners in Every Way - Chapter Two

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine, sorry.

Author's note: Welcome to the second chapter of not only this story, but of the entire series! Thank you for the response, everyone! I love you guys!

* * *

**_15 June 2008_**

Ianto helped Owen wrestle the body bag with the dead Blowfish down into the autopsy bay and onto the metal table, not being too gentle about it. He was a bit heavier than Ianto had thought, and it was a good thing two of them were doing the job because one person wouldn't have been able to handle it.

He'd noticed at the crime scene that both Toshiko and Owen seemed to have settled back into their accustomed roles with Torchwood, and Ianto was glad for it. They'd all been through so much…it would have been understandable if any of them had become too scarred by what had happened that they could no longer handle the pace and weirdness that Torchwood was. But they – all of them – were strong, and the dragon was grateful that they were all back where they belonged.

He watched as Owen began preparing one of the cold storage drawers for their 'guest'. "You and Tosh holding up all right?" he asked quietly, not wanting Gwen to hear their conversation. He thought they both looked fine, but what if there was something hidden within their professional facade? He and Jack needed to know, in order to plan accordingly.

"Been a bit weird, to be honest," the medic answered, just as quietly. He stopped what he was doing, and leaned his hip against the closed drawer door. "Thank God for Tosh, because I didn't realize I'd forget so bloody much, especially my passcodes. I'd never have gotten into the Hub without her. I'm just glad it's been slow up until now, because I've had to train myself up on some of the procedures all over again."

Ianto nodded in understanding. "I think we four should go over some of the stuff we've forgotten before things get out of hand…because you know they will."

"Good idea. Preferably without Cooper around, okay? I know Jack wants to keep her in the dark about what happened…" He sighed. "Look, I'm not so sure hiding this from her is such a good idea. I can see Jack's point about wanting her to keep her innocence of the whole bloody year, but since she hasn't actually had to live through it, I don't see why it would be such a big deal for her to at least have the basics. I'm just concerned that it's gonna come back and bite us all on the arse at some point."

"I'm of two minds about it, to be honest," Ianto admitted. "Yes, I can see Jack's point as well, since the year was the worst for him out of all of us, and he doesn't want any sort of pity. But you're also right; we know how Gwen is. If she even gets a whiff of a clue as to what happened, she won't let it go until she knows it all."

Owen snorted. "It's one of the reasons he hired her: for her tenacity."

"Some say tenacity…some others say sheer bloody-mindedness."

Owen rolled his eyes. "Your words, Dragon Boy. Not mine. But then I know how you feel about her."

Ianto had confided in both Toshiko and Owen, not long after Jack had gone, and during the worst of Gwen's tirades toward him for letting Jack leave in the first place. Things seem to have settled down between the dragon and the ex-copper now, but there for a couple of weeks it had been ugly coming into the Hub every day…well, when he hadn't stayed the night in his hoard room, which had been nearly all the time. There had been a couple of moments when Ianto had come very close to Retconning Gwen, but his professionalism had risen to the fore, and he'd come to the conclusion that they needed all the help they could get, and being one man down was better than missing two.

"My feelings don't matter," he replied, unzipping the bag in order to get the Blowfish out and ready for storage. "What matters is the team. If it looks like things are going to get ugly, I'll have to step in."

"That's why they pay you the big bucks."

It was Ianto's turn to roll his eyes. "Yeah, really big bucks." Actually, it was quite a nice pay packet, and if he added in his combined hoards – at the Hub, at home, and back at Ddraig Llyn – the dragon knew he was quite possibly one of the wealthiest people in Wales…if not in Great Britain. Not that he flaunted any of it, but four out of five of them in Torchwood knew about his hoards, and what they contained.

Owen went back to work as Ianto freed the body from the bag. "Jack and I have discussed it," he went on, changing the subject, "and we've decided that you and Tosh both need some time off as well, to recover from the last year. It didn't seem fair that he and I got our vacation…"

"You two needed it, especially Jack," the medic said, "but I'm not gonna turn down time off. In fact, if Jack bothers to check his paperwork, he'll already find a request from Tosh. Kathy wants her to meet her family in Newport." He opened the door, and pulled the drawer out. "Gotta say, I was surprised those two got together, but Kathy's been really good for Tosh. And Tosh deserves a bit of happiness."

"So do you," Ianto pointed out.

Together, the two managed to wrestle the dead Blowfish into the drawer. With an air of finality, Owen slammed the door shut. "I talked to Diane the first night we got back," he admitted. "I had to check on her, you know?" Ianto nodded. "It really hit home for me that no one remembers the hell we went through."

"Are you going to try for a long distance relationship with her?"

Owen shrugged. "I'd like to. She does, too. But we'll see where it takes us. They say that sort of relationship doesn't work…"

"But you can at least talk to each other online and over the phone."

"Yeah. And maybe on this time off you and Harkness have promised I could take a quick trip to Alaska."

"We'll make it happen." Ianto clapped Owen on the shoulder. He was about to say something else, but the unmistakable sound of Gwen yelling at Jack interrupted him.

"She couldn't even give him a chance to settle in," Owen growled. "What is her issue?"

"I think she actually took Jack's leaving personally." Ianto had come to that conclusion during those weeks after Jack had gone.

"Yeah, well I always did believe she thought more of herself in Jack's life than she actually is. Didn't help that Jack didn't disavow her of that until it was too late."

Ianto had to agree, but Jack had been so much better about not letting Gwen get away with things before he'd gone off with the Doctor. "I know she certainly blamed me for it."

"Yeah, well…she'll blame you if the sun goes behind the clouds." Owen sighed. "I bet you wish she'd never found out about you being a mythical creature."

"It was bound to happen."

"You were great at keeping it from Suzie. I never understood why you didn't clue her in."

"There was just something about Suzie I didn't trust," the dragon admitted. "Maybe it was because she was from One; but I didn't feel comfortable telling her, not like with you and Tosh. You both accepted it really well."

"Was there something about Cooper you didn't trust either?" Owen sounded merely curious, and not like he was trying to dig up information he could use.

"There's…a darkness in Gwen. I sensed it immediately. I tried to tell Jack about it that night he hired her, but he was too much into rationalizing why he'd done it to actually listen." Ianto still remembered that night on top of the Millennium Centre roof, knowing that the being called the Tarot Girl had spoken truly about the dragon getting his heart broken. He'd long ago forgiven Jack for his actions, but that didn't mean he still couldn't be bothered by them just a bit.

"All that humanity bollocks?" Owen snorted. "Sure, we can all act like dicks, but if we weren't human we wouldn't be doing what we do."

Ianto was about to agree with him, when the unmistakable feeling of a Rift spike rolled over him. "We have a – "

The alarm went off.

"Rift spike."

Owen laughed. "Getting a little slow on the uptake, Dragon Boy?"

"I'm allowed to be out of practice," he answered primly as both dragon and medic took the steps up to the main Hub and met the others at Toshiko's station.

* * *

The Rift alert took them to a car park near City Centre, where the local police had already cordoned off the area. Ianto approached the copper at the crime scene tape…and he smiled as he recognized him.

"Good evening, PC Davidson," the dragon said cordially. He'd met the man a couple of times before, but he hadn't really gotten to know him until Gwen had come onboard with Torchwood. "Or, should I say good morning?"

The young man rolled his eyes. "This isn't one of your spooky do's, is it?"

"We're not sure," Ianto hedged. His eyes tracked his team as they began working around what appeared to be a body. "We'll be glad to give you the scene back if it isn't."

"Least you could've done was bring out some coffee when you came!"

Ianto chuckled. "Sorry, but we thought we'd be at home by now, or else I'd have brought a thermos." He had a reputation with the constabulary for his coffee…although if they really knew the reason he was wont to bring coffee to various so-called crime scenes they might not have wanted to accept any from him again.

Together they stood watching as Toshiko started scanning the corpse. "DI Swanson said you and Himself were coming back today. Honestly, got to say we're all glad to see it. It hasn't been the same this last week, without seeing the Captain swan in and take control. Got a certain flair, he has."

The dragon couldn't argue with that.

But at the same time, Ianto now knew what Owen had meant about it all coming home to him when he'd talked to Diane. Here was Andrew Davidson, being completely normal, with no clue that he'd died during a year that had never happened to anyone but the dragon himself and a handful of others.

He could see Jack's point even more now, about not telling Gwen. The certain knowledge of everything that had occurred – even though whoever they told wouldn't be getting it first-hand – would be enough to weigh down anyone. Could they really burden someone with that? Wasn't it better to leave people in ignorance…and innocence?

Jack and Gwen were arguing about something, and Ianto stifled his sigh. He'd have to ask Jack what burr was up her arse later; now, it was just completely unprofessional to confront one's boss like that, in front of others.

"Is it true?" Andy interrupted his thoughts.

"Is what true?" the dragon asked, turning back to look at him.

"That Swanson and one of your teammates are together?" He didn't seem upset or anything; merely curious.

Ianto stiffened. "I don't think that's my place to say. Why don't you ask the detective inspector if you're so curious?"

Horror flashed across Andy's expressive face. "Are you kidding, mate? There's no way I'm asking her anything! My life isn't worth it."

"Now that shows good sense," Ianto said, clapping his hand on the PC's shoulder. "Ah…looks like we're done here." Ianto held up the yellow tape for the team.

"It's all yours, PC Davidson," Jack announced. "SOCO can eliminate us from anything they find. Although we were pretty careful." He winked playfully at the obviously flustered Andy.

The dragon rolled his eyes. He let the tape fall once Owen was through, and then turned back. "Thank you, Mr. Davidson," he said sincerely. "We'll let you know if we need anything else. You and your people have been very helpful."

Andy looked mollified by Ianto's words. "Don't mention it," he said. "Glad we can be of help."

They shook hands, and Ianto made his way back to the SUV, where the rest of the team was waiting. "Anything interesting?" he asked, joining them.

Jack nodded. "Looks like someone pushed that man from one of the upper decks of the car park. They had to have come through the Rift, judging from the energy found on the man's body."

"So we're dealing with a homicidal visitor." This wasn't good. There was no telling if there would be any more victims before they managed to catch whatever was responsible.

Jack was about to answer when his vortex manipulator beeped.

Ianto had heard that sound before, when he'd been wearing it during that lost year. It was a signal saying that a communication was coming through.

His mate looked surprised at the sound. He flipped open the cover, and pressed a button.

An image projected from the wrist strap.

It was of a man, dressed in anachronistic clothing, as if he'd stepped straight from the Napoleonic Era. A sword hung from his belt, as well as a pair of guns that didn't belong in the time the uniform had come from. He was an attractive sort, with short hair and nice cheekbones…but with an expression that Ianto just didn't like.

The image began to speak.

_"I can't believe I got the answering machine!" _the voice had a British accent, and yet there was something off about it, as if it wasn't necessarily the speaker's first language. _"What can you be doing that's more important than me?"_

That's when Ianto knew this was one of Jack's exes. He hadn't really asked Jack much about his past, simply because he was content to be Jack's present and future and the past didn't matter. But it looked like that past had just come back, and judging from Jack's expression he wasn't at all happy about it.

_"Anyway," _the man went on, _"you've probably traced the energy shift and found the body. All me…sorry about the mess. Bill me for the clean-up."_

And it sounded like a psychotic ex to boot. This was turning out to be a lousy welcome back.

_"Now!" _ The man clapped his hands together smartly. _"Drinks. Retrolock the transmission coordinates, that's where I am. And hurry up…work to do!" _He looked around in an exaggerated manner, and when he spoke again it was in a falsetto. _"Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope!" _The image made the movements that Ianto was familiar with from the movie he was quoting, and then faded.

Jack prodded the manipulator, then closed the cover. He looked as if he'd just sucked on a very sour lemon.

"Who the hell was that?" Gwen demanded.

"He apparently knew you," Toshiko added.

"That," Jack answered reluctantly, "was someone I'd hoped I'd never see again."

"Past or future?" Ianto asked.

"Future…far future." Jack looked as if he didn't want to say anything, but he seemed to make up his mind quickly. "You know I told you all about the Time Agency?"

Ianto did. Jack had told him about working for them, and how they'd stolen those two years from his memories. Judging from the affirmations from his teammates, Jack had been equally open with the others as well.

"That," his mate indicated the place where the transmission had been, "was my ex-partner. And he's apparently found me…which cannot be good."

Ianto got the impression that Jack was seriously understating things. "You're not going to meet him alone," he growled, feeling the sudden need to protect his mate.

"Not hardly," Jack agreed. "I'll need all the back-up I can get. Let's go."

As they all climbed into the SUV, Ianto had the sudden feeling that things were about to get very ugly.


	3. Partners in Every Way - Chapter Three

Partners in Every Way

Author: Milady Dragon

_****_Disclaimer: I don't own this, sorry.

Author's note: Welcome back! And here we are, John Hart makes his appearance. Hope you all enjoy!

* * *

_**15 June 2008**_

Jack ground his teeth as he drove through the dark streets of Cardiff, his mind in the past…or the future, depending on how he wanted to look at it.

He'd never known his partner's real name. One of the rules of the Time Agency was that no one used their real names, and what names they did choose to go by could never be used for long; the longer they did, the larger trail they would make through time, and the easier it would be for someone to track them. Of course, Jack had never told him his real name either, not even when they'd been trapped in that time loop, when it looked as if they were going to be cut off from the rest of the universe for their entire lives. It was too deeply ingrained in each and every Agent not to give too much away.

The first person to know Jack's true name since he'd left Boeshane had been Ianto. And Jack would never regret giving it to him.

He wondered what had brought his partner there, to Cardiff, and to Jack's chosen home century. Jack knew it wouldn't be good; his partner had had a self-interest streak in him a mile wide, and while he'd been a good Agent he would often go off on tangents if he thought he could get away with it. Nine times out of ten he had, and Jack's superiors would turn a blind eye as long as the mission was a success. Of course, Jack himself had been nearly as bad, and he cringed as he recalled things he'd done that he'd thought were good ideas at the time, but now, with the benefit of hindsight, were just plain wrong. He'd gone into the Time Agency in order to find Gray, and had carried that hope with him; he'd come out embittered, amoral, and missing two years of his memories.

Then he wondered if the Time Agency was after him, and had sent his former partner to bring him in. That would be just like them. He didn't know what concerned him the most: that he'd been discovered, or that his partner was after him for some other reason. Either way, he'd deal with it accordingly.

"What can we expect?" Ianto asked, his soft voice pulling Jack from his thoughts.

Jack knew he had to get back on task. "Like I said, he's my ex-partner from the Time Agency. He's a compulsive liar and you cannot trust anything he says. He's deadly and will most likely be armed to the teeth. I have no idea what he knows about this time, or about Torchwood, but you can pretty much assume he's done his research."

"So you don't know if he's here for you, or for some other purpose," his mate said.

"No, I don't."

"Jesus, you know how to pick 'em," Owen said acerbically.

"Chances are," Jack went on, "he's here for some reason that will only benefit him. Once we find that out, then we can get rid of him." At least he sincerely hoped so. The last thing he wanted was his partner to hang around and cause trouble…because he most definitely would.

"And you were partnered with him?" Gwen asked incredulously.

"Our superiors thought I was the best one to keep him under control." That was true, in a way…but Jack always did wonder if it was because they'd wanted his partner to rub off on him, to bring Jack a bit closer to what they'd wanted him to be. Most Agents were willing to do pretty much anything to accomplish their goals, and even though Jack had most definitely been corrupted there had still been some lines he would not cross.

The coordinates he'd been sent had been for a smallish club called the Bar Reunion…Jack thought that name was very apt. They piled out of the SUV, Jack setting the deadbolt locks and turning on the alarm before gathering the others around him. "All right; here's what we're gonna do. I want Owen and Toshiko to go around the back. Ianto, you and Gwen at the front. I'm going in and confronting him."

"You said he was dangerous," Gwen argued. "You shouldn't go in there alone."

"That's exactly why I should," Jack answered. "He knows me. I don't think he'll do anything too bad to me, because I'm certain he wants something. He won't pull anything until he gets what he wants." He was confident of that; if he could say one thing about his partner, he usually made certain he got what he was after first. Afterward though was a different matter entirely… "You're my back-up. If he thinks I'm alone, he might be more open with me about what he wants."

He turned to Toshiko. "I also want you to do a comprehensive scan during our meeting. He'll have weapons where you least expect it, and I would prefer him not to get the drop on any of us if I can avoid it. As I said, I'm pretty certain he won't try anything until he gets what he wants, but let's be careful anyway."

"And what if he wants you?" Ianto asked solemnly.

Jack grinned. "Then he's going to be very disappointed." Then he sobered. "Now, I don't want any of you to be surprised at whatever happens in there. Knowing him, he'll either try to kiss me…or beat the crap out of me. Quite possibly both if I'm lucky." He looked closely at Ianto. "No overprotective gestures from you, Mr. Jones."

"You're my mate," Ianto growled, his eyes changing to their dragon aspect. "If he harms you, I will tear him apart."

A warm feeling settled into Jack's chest at Ianto's words. He'd never had anyone who was willing to protect him like that. "Yes, you can eat him if he does. But no matter what you see in there, you are not to come thundering in. Got it?" He pitched it as an order, knowing his Second would obey.

Ianto nodded, although he didn't look happy.

"Let's go and get this over with," Jack said, sending them on their way.

He went in through the front doors, past his mate and Gwen who followed him, stopping just inside the club's inner doors, their guns out and ready. He didn't pay them any more attention as he made his way into the deserted building; yes, he wasn't surprised that his partner had cleared the place out for their meeting.

The man himself was standing at the bar, and the moment Jack stepped into the club, he moved away from it and into the centre of the room, his fingers smoothly unsnapping the releases on the holsters tied down to his thighs. A threatening move, but Jack knew his ex-partner wouldn't be shooting him until he'd had his say.

It was a test. One that Jack ignored by not doing the same with his Webley.

At almost the same moment, they began striding toward each other. Jack had to admit he was enjoying the rush of adrenaline that had been building ever since he'd gotten that recording on his wrist strap, even though he knew damned well whatever his ex-partner had planned would most likely cause a great deal of mayhem.

They stopped well within each other's personal space. Jack could smell the other man's pheromones keenly, and knew that his old lover was aroused by the posturing. At one time Jack might have been as well, but now he was just waiting, wanting to see what was going to happen next.

What happened next was a hand snapped out, grabbing Jack by the lapel of his greatcoat. A pair of once familiar lips crashed against his own, roughly claiming Jack in a way that he'd once found a turn-on, but now he simply let his partner go to it, knowing it meant nothing to him anymore.

Hands groped him, running from his head then down his back and up again, and it did absolutely nothing for him. His partner must have realized it, because he pulled away, a shark-like grin on his face.

Jack saw the right hook coming just in time to brace for it.

Still, his head snapped back, and he tasted blood on his tongue. Smirking, Jack returned the blow, and it was no surprise that the man gave Jack a smirk of his own.

At that point the fight began in earnest.

A punch in the gut sent the air from Jack's lungs in a whoosh. His ex pulled back, laughing, and Jack took the opening, kicking out and sending the man to his knees.

Jack grinned, he couldn't help it. It was the very act of letting go, of being able to strike out, that was amping up his adrenaline and making him want to continue the fight. He wasn't helpless anymore; he wasn't at the mercy of an insane Time Lord and could defend himself against the blows he knew would be coming. He reveled in it, in the knowledge that he was able to take care of himself again.

Even as John was attacking once more, Jack knew that his rediscovered ability to take care of himself didn't mean that he wouldn't let his mate look after him as well, but it was amazing to know he didn't have to rely on Ianto to do it.

Their fight pretty much destroyed the club, but Jack didn't care. The sheer freedom of the movement of fists and feet and bodies was like a drug to him, even when his partner was the one beating the shit out of him. The slide across the bar actually made Jack laugh with joy even as broken shot glasses scratched his face and embedded themselves in the wool of his coat.

Eventually all good things must come to an end, however.

They ended up in a stalemate, each at the end of the other's gun, grinning like loons as they faced each other down. "Are you putting on weight?" his antagonist asked breathlessly.

"Are you losing your hair?" Jack returned, sounding just as out of breath.

"What are you wearing?"

Jack could ask the same, but said instead, falling back on old Time Agent protocol of introducing himself to a fellow Agent, "Captain Jack Harkness. Note the stripes."

"Captain John Hart," his partner returned. "Note the sarcasm."

Nothing had changed. Jack wasn't sure how he felt about that, although it made anticipating his partner's – John's – movements a tad better. "Hey, I worked my way up through the ranks," he couldn't help but say, caught up in the excitement.

"And I'm sure the ranks were very grateful," Hart answered. "I could use a drink."

And just like that, the tension was gone. "I thought you'd never ask." Jack didn't much drink anymore, but he knew his ex-partner, and he doubted the man would get down to business without being well lubricated first.

Together they made their way toward the demolished bar. Hart practically slammed his gun down on it and then reached over, pulling a bottle up and handing it to Jack. Taking another one, he promptly tore the spout off with his teeth and began to chug it greedily.

Jack just stared, wondering how Hart had managed to keep his original liver…but then, maybe he hadn't. "So," he said rhetorically, "how was rehab?" Rehab was a bit different in the future than it was now, but it had obviously been a failure.

Hart stopped drinking, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and grinning. "Rehabs…plural."

Jack raised an eyebrow in enquiry. "Drink…drugs…sex…"

"And murder."

_Oh_ _shit_…

"You went to murder rehab?" Jack didn't like the sound of that, but he kept his question light, even adding in a small chuckle. He didn't want to tip his ex off as to how much he'd actually changed.

"I know," Hart rolled his eyes. "The odd kill…who does it hurt?"

_The victims' families, for one. _But Jack didn't say that aloud. Instead, he asked, "You clean now?" knowing the answer was a resounding no, but having to anyway.

"Kicked everything," Hart said, proudly. "Living like a priest."

Jack inwardly scoffed at that, but didn't let how he was feeling show. He set his bottle down, needing to start getting some answers. "So, how's the Time Agency?" He made is sound like an innocent question, but he had to know if he'd been found out.

Hart's face fell. "You haven't heard then." At Jack's head shake, he said, "It's shut down."

Jack was shocked. That was the last thing he'd been expecting. "You're kidding."

But he could see that his former partner wasn't. And yet, there was something in his eyes that told Jack there was a story there, and that he wasn't likely to be getting it. "There are only seven of us left."

What could have happened? Jack couldn't believe it, and yet for once he could tell the man next to him was telling the truth. The Time Agency was gone…and however it had happened, Jack thought it was for the best. In fact, he would have said "Good riddance!" if he didn't want to risk some sort of reaction from Hart.

What passed for a tender look crossed Hart's face. "I've missed you. It hadn't been the same without you." He leaned forward, and Jack knew exactly what he meant to do.

He pulled back. "I want you off my territory."

Outrage replaced the soft expression. "What?"

"You heard me." He turned away, although he wasn't foolish enough to put his back to his rather dangerous companion.

"Time was," Hart spat, "you couldn't get enough of me on your 'territory'."

"Things change," Jack said.

Hart's eyes narrowed. With the speed that Jack knew he had under the somewhat lazy exterior, he grabbed his gun and fired twice, once toward the front of the club, and once toward the back. "All right!" he shouted. "Everybody out!"

Jack's heart pounded. He didn't breathe until his entire team showed themselves…and he could see that Hart's bullets had missed everyone.

They came in, their guns up and ready. Jack met his mate's eye as Ianto edged forward, his body partially in front of Gwen's in an effort to cover her in case Hart shot again. The dragon was practically expressionless, which Jack knew from experience wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It wasn't good, either, but it wasn't like he was going to go dragon and tear Hart into little pieces.

Owen was covering Toshiko as well, and they both looked cool and professional and Jack was proud of each and every one of them. They'd stayed outside until forced to come in, and they'd trusted him to handle their visitor by himself.

"Everything all right, Sir?" Ianto asked cautiously.

"Everything's fine," Jack answered, his smile saying he was going to get back at the dragon later for calling him 'Sir'.

"You've got a team!" Hart sounded inordinately pleased by that notion. "How sweet! And how very pretty! No blonde though. You need a blonde."

Owen rolled his eyes. "He's worse than you, Harkness."

"Do you have a team name?" Hart was practically bouncing. "I love team names! Go on, what is it?"

"Torchwood," Jack answered sharply.

Hart seemed to stop in mid-bounce. An odd expression crossed his features, but was gone faster than Jack could react. "Not Excalibur? Blizzard? Bikini Cops?" He pulled a pout that made him look as if someone had just kicked his puppy. "No? Torchwood?" He sighed. "Oh dear…"

Jack just knew he was hiding something. A part of him really wanted to know what that was; but another part didn't want to ask, because asking might risk the future. Yet another lesson the Time Agency pounded into him: do nothing to change the future. He couldn't be certain that, whatever Hart was keeping back, would actually affect time in any way, but Jack couldn't take the chance.

Even as much as Jack wanted to force the information out of him.

He would have to wait. And, despite what Ianto might think, he did have a lot of patience.

He just wasn't about to trust Hart as far as he could throw him.


	4. Partners in Every Way - Chapter Four

Partners in Every Way

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine

Author;s note: Thanks to everyone reading and reviewing. Please keep it up! Here we go, and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

_**15 June 2008**_

Ianto immediately disliked the self-named John Hart.

And no, it wasn't because the man had kissed his mate, nor because the man had obviously felt the need to practically paw at Jack…although seeing that had caused a growl to rise within him that had been hard to silence. He trusted Jack completely to take care of himself in those circumstances, and Ianto was well aware of how he felt about his former partner. Besides, if he got mad every time Jack kissed someone or someone kissed Jack, he'd be perpetually pissed off.

It also wasn't because Hart dared punch Jack. Yes, it had taken all of Ianto's self- control not to go to his mate's aid, but the dragon did know that Jack could hold his own in a fight. It bothered him a little that Jack seemed to be enjoying it a bit too much – and that was something he'd be certain to ask about later, and in private – however Jack had quickly looked as if he'd gained the upper hand. It had still been hard to simply stand there and watch.

The one time he hadn't felt like running to the rescue was when the two men had been in that stalemate, with guns pointed at each other. Yes, he hated Jack dying, but at the same time Ianto knew his mate would come back. Hart, of course, would not.

Ianto was pretty certain he didn't feel at all bad about that.

His sensitive dragon hearing caught their conversation as they leant against the bar. Ianto was relieved about the Time Agency; there had been a small part of him that had worried that, someday, someone would come after Jack for leaving after they'd wiped his memories. If that had happened, then Ianto would have protected his mate from being taken, even if it had meant his life. But now, it looked as if he would never have to do that, and Ianto was grateful that Hart had brought that important piece of information, even if the man put Ianto's teeth on edge.

Of course, Jack had said they couldn't trust anything Hart said. The man could very well be lying about that, to lull them into a false sense of security.

Which made Ianto feel even more paranoid about their 'visitor'.

He certainly didn't like the notion of something called 'murder rehab', not at all.

Ianto knew that Jack would keep his eye on Hart, but he would also do the same. No one was going to hurt his family.

The gun shots, when they came, hadn't really surprised Ianto all that much. He knew Jack's slightly advanced human senses, and it had been a safe bet that Hart had the same. He'd deliberately put himself between Gwen and any harm, knowing that, even if he was shot, the bullets really wouldn't do too much damage to him. He might not like Gwen very much, but he'd still protect her. It was his duty, after all. He'd Named her, and he would keep that vow.

His first impression of Hart from a distance didn't hold up under closer scrutiny, either. There was just something about the man…something that felt slimy against Ianto's skin and scales. A small voice in the back of his mind – one that sounded very much like his mother's – was telling him to trust this, to trust this feeling, and Ianto listened.

"Toshiko Sato," Jack introduced them, "Owen Harper…Gwen Cooper…and my Second in Command, Ianto Jones."

The dragon kept his gun up, his arms not wavering. He was gratified to see that the others were doing the same.

"Captain John Hart," the man said, nodding to each in turn. He'd seemed to have lost the slightly manic tone he'd had before, his expression turning sombre.

"What are you doing here?" Jack demanded, his posture suddenly stiff.

"Down to business," Hart congratulated. "I like that." He raised his arm, revealing a vortex manipulator.

"It's not the same as yours, Jack," Toshiko commented, her eyes on the wrist strap.

"It's smaller," Jack answered.

"But lasts so much longer," Hart snarked, rolling his eyes. "Get two Time Agents in the same room and it's all about the size of the wrist strap."

The innuendo was obvious, and Ianto was proud of his team for not rising to the bait.

Hart looked disappointed. "Anyway," he said, "I'm working with this woman – beautiful, clever, sexy, yadda yadda yadda – and we both get shot. As she's dying, she begs me. She tells me about these radiation cluster bombs she's been working on." He pressed a button on his wrist strap, and a hologram appeared…it was a rotating canister, about ten inches long.

Ianto thought it didn't look much like a bomb, but then it was from the future…who knew what sort of advanced technology it had been constructed from?

"Don't like the sound of that," Owen muttered.

"Three canisters," Hart replied. "Contents beyond toxic, swallowed up in a Rift storm."

"And they ended up here," Toshiko posited.

"Bingo," Hart agreed. "That's the downside of your city being built on a Rift in space and time. Now, left to their own devices, the radiation will break down the canisters and then infect the people, and the planet. They need to be neutralized."

Ianto could tell, by the look on Jack's face, that he was a bit skeptical of Hart's story, which made the dragon even less willing to believe it. He kept his gun up; he wasn't about to risk anyone getting hurt by anything Hart did, even though the ex-Time Agent apparently was letting his guard down. And no, he didn't trust that, either.

Toshiko and Owen still had their weapons ready, but Gwen had lowered hers, and he knew he'd have to talk to her about that at some point. Jack had warned them about Hart, had explained that the man was dangerous, and not to trust him. Even at ease Hart oozed something that set the dragon's instincts buzzing.

The hologram vanished, and Hart closed his wrist strap.

"What's in it for you?" Jack asked, his eyes narrowed.

"Dying woman's wish," Hart shrugged.

Jack made a scoffing noise. Ianto was glad of that, because even though he'd just met the man, he didn't believe for one minute that Hart would go out of his way to respect a death request.

And it was obvious that Hart knew Jack didn't believe him.

"Problem is," he continued, as if it didn't matter, "I don't know where they are. I'm hoping local knowledge can help."

Hart sounded so sincere…perhaps too sincere. Ianto couldn't kick the notion that there was something else, something that Hart was keeping back, and that this so-called bombs were some sort of…well, he didn't know what.

"I can run a citywide scan," Toshiko said. "Look for any radiation surges and cross-reference that with Rift activity for the specified time period."

"You must be the beauty and the brains of this outfit," Hart leered at her.

Toshiko let it just roll off her without reacting, which sent Hart into a pout. It wasn't at all an effective one, either.

"See," he said, "it's an easy job."

Jack was frowning. "We do this, and then you're gone. Immediately."

Hart didn't look happy. "Fine, if that's the way you want it."

"It is."

A sudden grin broke out over the man's face. "Does this mean I get to see your house?"

* * *

"Letting that man into the Hub is a really bad idea," Gwen said.

Ianto couldn't help but agree with her.

The four of them were riding back to the Hub in the SUV; Jack had wrestled Hart into a taxi, saying they would meet them back at the Hub. Jack had taken Ianto aside, giving him specific instructions for their arrival.

Ianto hadn't wanted to leave Jack alone with Hart, but they all wouldn't have fit in the SUV. He'd tried to convince Jack to let him come with them, but Jack had said that he could handle Hart just fine on his own. Ianto didn't want to doubt his mate…but then, he did trust Jack.

It was John Hart that he didn't trust.

That was why Ianto made certain to confiscate Hart's vortex manipulator before they'd left the two men at the bar.

"We don't have much choice," he answered, his hands tightening on the steering wheel. "Jack's in charge."

"We don't know anything about this Hart character," Gwen said.

"We know enough," Owen said. "We know he's some sort of nutcase."

"Which is enough for me," Toshiko added.

"We know he can't be trusted," Ianto said. "He's a liar…which is fairly obvious."

"Then you don't believe his story then?" Gwen asked.

"I don't, no."

"But if there's a bare chance he's telling the truth –"

"Which is why we're helping him," the dragon said. "We simply can't take a risk." He didn't want his adopted home to suffer because they'd been wrong.

"I say we chuck his arse into a cell then go after these canisters ourselves," Owen suggested, somewhat gleefully.

"I like that idea," Toshiko agreed.

Ianto did, as well.

"We don't have any proof he's actually lying," Gwen argued. "Locking him up won't solve anything."

"And yet you don't trust him enough to let him into the Hub," Toshiko pointed out.

"Of course I don't trust him," the ex-copper said. "But I just don't see that keeping Hart prisoner will make any difference."

"It's up to Jack," Ianto said. "If he says we're to help Hart get these canisters and then send him on his way, then that's what we do."

"Yeah, well Jack left us," Gwen groused. "Seems to me he lost his right to lead the team when he took off."

Ianto found himself grinding his teeth. "Jack will always be our leader, even long after you're dead and dust, Gwen. And I don't know about anyone else, but I'll keep following him until the day comes when he wants to put Torchwood behind him for good." _Even after,_ he didn't add.

"I'm with you, Ianto," Toshiko said, leaning up from the back seat and squeezing his shoulder. "Jack's our leader. There will never be anyone else."

"Yeah," Owen replied. "I'll follow Jack – and you – until you put me in the ground…or the morgue, as the case may be."

Ianto felt a warmth grow in his chest at their words. They really were true friends, and he was glad to know them. "Thank you both."

"Well don't let it go to your head, Dragon Boy, cause I'm not about to stop giving the pair of you shit."

The dragon laughed. "The day you stop being a prat, Owen, is the day I start looking for the alien influencing you."

"Damn right."

"I don't get you both," Gwen exclaimed. "Jack abandoned us, and Ianto…isn't human. And yet you're both willing to let them be in charge?"

"Yes, you _don't_ understand," Toshiko said. "You don't understand loyalty and friendship and honor. When you do that, then you'll realize just what it means to be in Torchwood, and to follow Jack and Ianto."

Gwen was silent, and Ianto hoped that she was digesting what she'd been told. Perhaps it was naïve of him, but he did hold out some hope for her. During Jack's absence she'd proven to be a competent field agent, and her engagement to Rhys had shown him a side of her he hadn't known existed: that of loving partner. After her affair with Owen, the dragon had doubted that would ever be the case.

He honestly didn't care how Gwen felt about him. To Ianto, the only one who mattered was Jack…and Toshiko and Owen after that. One day she might come around, and on that day his opinion would change. But, until then, she could say what she wanted, as long as it wasn't against Jack or his friends.

They made the rest of the trip to the Hub in silence, and only once they'd pulled into the underground car park did he speak again. "First, we'll scan him as he comes into the Hub. Toshiko, I want you and Owen to take comprehensive readings on him and anything he happens to have on him. Gwen, you're with me. I want you to use a portable scanner and check him carefully for any weapons. Oh, and Tosh…make certain you have him in scanner range at all times. I don't want him sneaking around the Hub. There's no telling what he'd get into."

There were murmurs of agreement, and they all headed into the Hub.

Ianto went to the kitchen, grabbing one of the silver serving trays that he'd brought up from his hoard. From what Jack had said, Hart would be heavily armed, and the dragon doubted he would have enough hands to hold everything they managed to find. Plus it never hurt to be prepared.

Jack had said he would bring Hart in on the invisible lift, and it was from that direction that the dragon got the first faint tingle in his mind that announced his mate's arrival. He made his way to the lift, but not before stopping heading into Jack's office and locking Hart's wrist strap into the Secure Archives, not wanting their 'visitor' to get it back before they were ready.

The clunking of the lift mechanism officially announced Jack and Hart's entrance. Ianto stood waiting, the tray behind his back, and Gwen joined him, her scanner ready. He spared her a look, and then turned his eyes upward, to the descending lift.

"It's roomy," he heard Hart say. "I'll give you that. Although your interior decorating has a lot to be desired. What is this…sewer chic?"

The lift stone settled into its base. Jack stepped off, turning to glare at Hart, who made to step down…and then Jack's hand shot up, pushing him back. "Weapons."

Hart sighed, rolling his eyes. Ianto flipped the tray around, holding it in both hands. Something about him earned a leer from the ex-Time Agent, and the dragon ignored it.

He unsnapped the safety catches on his holsters, removing the guns and handing them to Jack. Jack in turn placed them on the silver tray, giving Ianto a slight wink.

The katana was next, and Ianto had to admit that he wouldn't have minded getting a closer look at the sword. He wondered where Hart had gotten it, and if it was authentic.

Jack turned back to Hart, and the innocent look the man had on his face wouldn't have fooled a baby. Jack held his hand out, waiting.

"And the rest." Jack didn't say it as a question, either.

"You know me," Hart grinned. "I'm a two-weapon kinda guy." He winked broadly.

Like Ianto was going to believe that.

"One pistol strapped to each leg," Gwen reported, her eyes on her scanner, "laser knife below left elbow, seventeen small explosive charges in the linings of his coat…"

As she rattled off the various devices on Hart's person, Jack removed them and set them on Ianto's tray. The dragon was glad that he was a bit above human-level strength; the pile was getting a bit heavy.

Once they were done, Hart simply shrugged. "They must have slipped my mind."

"Yeah, right." Jack turned to Ianto. "Let's lock those down and then we'll all meet in the boardroom and come up with a plan." He stepped away from the lift, letting Hart off.

Toshiko and Owen had joined them, their own scans obviously complete. Owen had his gun out, and Toshiko was holding another scanner. "Come on then," the medic growled, motioning with his weapon. "I'd hate to have to shoot you just to patch you up."

"Nice of you to show me your gun," Hart leered. "I'd show you mine, but Eye Candy here wants to keep them all to himself."

_Eye Candy?_

Oh gods and goddesses and Great Dragons…


	5. Partners in Every Way - Chapter Five

Partners in Every Way - Chapter Five

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine, darn it

Author's note: Hello, everyone! Here we go, the next chapter! Hope you like it.

* * *

_**15 June 2008**_

"Jack."

Jack turned at Ianto's call. They were in his office, and the rather large collection of weapons was on his desk, waiting to be put away.

Ianto was standing by the safe, the door open, a frown on his face. He didn't look happy, which didn't surprise Jack at all; he knew his mate had seen what had occurred at the bar, and he'd have serious issues with Hart's presence in the Hub. Not that Jack blamed him; he knew his former partner very well, and it was dangerous just to breathe the same oxygen that Hart did, out of concern for airborne poisons. "I know what you're going to say," he answered. "And no, I don't trust him one bit. But if there's just a small chance that he'd being honest for one of the few times since I'd met him…"

"I understand that," the dragon said. "We can't allow even the possibility that there really are some forms of bomb out there. But I don't see why we can't put him in a cell for the duration of our search. We certainly don't need him to help us, and I don't trust him not to hurt anyone. I also don't trust him not to use the bombs himself."

Ianto might have just met Hart, but Jack knew he had a very valid point. "Honestly? We put him in a cell, and I can guarantee he'll break out on his own, and it doesn't matter what our security is like. It would be better to keep him fully in sight than leave him here, alone. So taking him with us is really the only option."

The dragon regarded him closely, then nodded. "You do know him best. But, he knows you, even though it's been over one hundred years since you've last worked with him. Which is why I think I should be the one to watch him, if we decide to split up to make the hunt go faster."

Jack shook his head. "That's precisely the reason why I should be the one to partner with him, because he does know me, and he knows what I'm capable of. I've also changed a lot since then, and he doesn't know about my immortality –"

"And he doesn't know I'm a dragon," Ianto said. "He won't be expecting me to be tougher than I look. Plus, I can distract him…flirt a bit…he already has his eye on me. Perhaps I can distract him enough to get something out of him."

He didn't like it, not at all. Jack didn't want his mate anywhere near Hart. But he could also see Ianto's point. Hart wouldn't be as open with Jack himself as he might be with someone else; he would dance around the mission and do his damnedest to distract Jack away from what needed to be done. Not that he would necessarily succeed, because Jack would be on the lookout for such behavior, but Hart wouldn't be lulled into letting something slip around him.

Ianto was the logical choice. Any of the others would, of course, be wary of Hart, but the dragon was the one who would be able to more easily hold his own against any of Hart's tricks. It was just the idea that Ianto would be with his very dangerous ex-partner, and he didn't want to take the chance that anything could happen…

Jack sighed. He knew he'd be doing it Ianto's way, since he also knew he didn't dare leave Hart alone in the Hub, even locked down in a cell. His getting free and getting his hands on things he shouldn't was a very real danger.

As real a danger as letting the man anywhere near his mate.

"Okay," Jack capitulated. "But there are a few ground rules, okay?"

Ianto nodded gravely. "You know him; and I trust you."

Jack smiled quietly. "And I trust you to take a chunk of out his ass if he so much as touches you."

The dragon looked innocent, which was somewhat ruined by the wink that he threw in Jack's direction.

"Okay, there are actually three rules." Jack ticked them off on his fingers. "First one: don't believe anything he says…which I think is somewhat obvious." Ianto nodded. "The second one is always keep him in front of you. You're tough, and he doesn't know where to hit you to do the most damage, but he could get lucky. And three…never let him kiss you."

Ianto's nose wrinkled in disgust. "Not hardly. Although I could make the same warning to you."

Jack instantly felt guilty. "What happened back at the bar –"

"Jack," Ianto stepped up to him, resting a hand on his chest, "it's all right. Hart kissed you; you didn't kiss him. But you should follow your own advice, you know; it's obvious he wants you, and you should watch yourself as much as you watch out for us. He could easily pull something on you, as he could on the rest of us. And, to be honest…I'm not sure it would be a good idea to let him know you can't die. If I don't trust him with everyone's safety, then I certainly don't trust him with that particular secret."

Of course, Ianto was speaking sense. Jack had been so concerned for his team that he hadn't even considered his own personal safety, knowing that he would snap back from anything that might be thrown his way. And yes, letting Hart in on his immortality could be a costly mistake, one that Jack knew he couldn't afford to make. While he didn't know what his former partner would do with that information, Jack wasn't about to take the risk.

"You're right," he admitted. "I hadn't planned on telling him anyway, but he could easily find out if he tried to kill me."

"And I heard that crack about 'murder rehab'. There's such a thing in the future?"

Jack nodded. "Rehabilitation is different in the future than it is here. Every possible step is taken to cure someone before they're proclaimed too dangerous to let out into society. And, of course, some do manage to slip through and bluff the system." He'd seen the difference between the past and the future forms of reform, and he couldn't honestly say either one was better than the other. Neither seemed to have the best success rate, even though in the future they were a little less inhumane about their methods. And in the time Jack was from they let criminals get away with a bit more than they did in the 21st Century.

"Let's get these weapons locked up," Ianto said gathering up the tray and heading back over to the safe. "I'm not sure leaving the team alone with Hart is such a good idea, even if Owen is inclined to shoot him."

"You're right." Jack grabbed Ianto by the arm, pulling him to a stop. He leaned over the tray and brushed a barely-there kiss across his mate's lips. "I don't have to tell you to be careful, do I?"

"Only if you be careful, too," the dragon smirked.

"Deal." Jack began stacking the confiscated weapons into the safe, standing the katana up next to the sword that Ianto had given Jack; the sword that Ianto had used to kill Lisa.

He shivered and hoped it wasn't some sort of omen…not that he actually believed in omens.

They joined the rest of the team and Hart in the boardroom, the atmosphere so thick Jack knew he could have cut it with a laser scalpel. Toshiko was the only one actually doing anything; she was seated, her fingers flying over the keyboard of her computer, frowning in concentration.

Owen had his gun out and lying on the tabletop, obviously watching John Hart…who didn't seem at all bothered by the scrutiny. His feet were up on the table, and he was leaning back in his chair, looking extremely bored with it all. But Jack could make out the tells in his former partner: the slightly stiff set of his shoulders, and the sharpness in his gaze. Other than that he was the perfect model of uncaring looseness, and Jack wanted nothing more than to shake that up.

Gwen sat next to Owen, and she was also watching Hart like a hawk. Her gaze was calculating, and Jack wondered just what she was seeing. He might not agree with a lot that Gwen did, but she could be discerning when she wanted to be…as long as it didn't have anything to do with one of her teammates, of course. Then she could be blinkered, and to Jack that just didn't make any sense. He would be interested in hearing what she might have to say about their unwanted 'guest'.

Ianto took his customary seat next to Jack's but Jack himself didn't sit; he stood next to the screen in the far wall, his arms crossed. "What have you found, Toshiko?" he asked, getting things started.

His technician looked up from her terminal. "Seven hours ago," she reported, "we logged in a very minor surge of Rift energy in three different locations." She touched a control on her keyboard, and a map of the city came up on the viewscreen. Three glowing red dots appeared on the map: one north, one west, and one obviously in the dock area of town.

Ianto frowned; Jack was too familiar with the dragon, and knew he was second-guessing himself about not sensing the Rift spikes. However, if Jack was right they'd just been getting into Cardiff from Ddraig Llyn at that point, and if they really were minor spikes then Ianto could very well have missed them.

"Six of us," Hart spoke up, his feet coming down off the tabletop, "three locations. Two to each location."

Jack glared at him. "I'm in charge here," he snapped. "I give the orders." Ianto had called it, them splitting up to handle separate targets. It had made sense then, but he wasn't about to give Hart the satisfaction of seemingly bending to his whim quite so easily.

"Then give some, big boy!" Hart rolled his eyes.

"There's something else," Toshiko butted into their posturing. "If these canisters are radioactive, then why haven't I picked up any radiation surges?"

Hart shrugged. "The canisters could be holding integrity at the moment. But trust me…that won't last."

He seemed quite nonchalant about it, but Jack couldn't help but wonder if there was any radiation involved at all. Hart had made such a big deal about the canisters being deadly, and yet there wasn't a sign of that danger he'd tried to use to motivate them. It was one more notch against Hart's story, but it wasn't enough to make him call the man a complete liar.

"John's right," Gwen said, giving the man a small smile. "Sorry…do you prefer John, or Captain?"

"With eyes like yours," Hart leered, "you can call me Vera. I won't complain."

What was Gwen doing?

Jack opened his mouth to call her down, but she spoke right over him. "Tosh and Owen can take the north; Jack and Ianto, the west. Vera and I can take the docks."

Hart made a kissing gesture in her direction, and Gwen practically batted her eyelashes at him.

"As much as I appreciate the suggestion, Gwen," Jack said sharply, "you are not in charge of this team. I am. It's my decision to make who teams up with whom…if there's any splitting up at all."

He could see Hart taking everything in, and Jack swore silently. His ex-partner was making mental notes of the weaknesses within the team, possibly to exploit for later. This was what he'd been hoping to avoid: to give Hart any ammunition to work with, to keep him from setting any wedges within his family.

But then, Jack considered that he might have been a bit naïve that Gwen would just fall into line. She was an opinionated woman, and in ways he'd completely forgotten how to deal with her. It had been well over a year since he'd last seen her, and while Ianto had said she'd seemed to have integrated with the team over the four months between Jack leaving with the Doctor and Saxon taking over, he should have seen that she'd push back against his authority.

But he had forgotten, and had had it thrown back up in his face twice so far since he'd come back. This was the third, and as far as Jack was concerned, it was going to be the last.

His eyes scanned the group. Owen was actually stroking his handgun, and Jack would have normally made an innuendo-laden comment about the action, but kept it to himself. His medic was watching Hart as if he was looking at something under a microscope, distrust written all over him. He thought back to his conversation with Ianto in his office, and realized that, while Owen wouldn't let Hart get away with shit, he would be too tempted to give in to needling the man…and that could give Hart an opening into Owen's mental processes that Jack didn't want to give him.

Toshiko seemed calm and collected, waiting for Jack to tell them what to do. She and Ianto made the best team at the table, but Jack knew that he would split them up this time. Ianto had been correct; the dragon was the best fit to watch Hart, and that meant teaming them together.

"All right," he said, resting his hands on the table and leaning forward, "splitting up seems our best option, but the teams are going to be a bit different. Owen," he turned toward the medic, "you and Gwen will take the north." Gwen looked as if she was going to argue, but Jack simply glared at her. "Toshiko, you and I will head west. Ianto, you take Hart and head toward the docks." The open spaces would give the dragon the best chance to transform if he needed to.

"Me and Eye Candy," Hart purred. "It must be my lucky day."

Ianto simply rolled his eyes, not rising to the bait, which made Jack's decision that much easier to deal with.

"I can program some PDA's to help in the search," Toshiko volunteered. "Since we don't have any idea beyond general location as to where the canisters are."

"Good idea," Jack agreed. "How long will it take?"

She shrugged. "A couple of minutes."

"Get on that."

Toshiko nodded, getting up from the table and leaving the room.

"Captain Hart," Ianto said coolly, standing. "Shall we go?"

Hart practically bounced to his feet. "I'm all yours," he answered, almost gleefully.

Ianto motioned him ahead, not answering the comment. But Jack could see the suspicion coming off of his mate in waves, and knew that Ianto could handle Hart, if anyone could.

"C'mon, Cooper," Owen said, getting up and holstering his gun. "Let's get this show on the road."

"Just a second," she answered, her eyes not leaving Jack's.

He really shouldn't have been surprised that Gwen would try to get the last word.

Once Owen was gone, Gwen put her hands on her hips and glared. "I was the logical choice to go with Hart," she argued hotly. "You weren't in here to watch him flirt with me. I could have gotten him to open up to me."

"No, Gwen," he said. "He would have eaten you alive. He would have ditched you at the first opportunity, and chances are his methods would have been fatal."

"And you think Ianto can handle him?" Gwen snorted.

"I know he can. Hart doesn't know about him, doesn't know that Ianto is a dragon. He's tough and very difficult to kill, plus Hart was flirting with him as well…but then, he was flirting with everyone, so that doesn't make one bit of difference in this situation. No, Ianto has the best chance of coming out of any confrontation with Hart relatively unscathed, and I honestly think he'll be able to get information out of him better than anyone else could." He didn't want to think that there'd be any sort of dust-up between his mate and ex-partner, but Jack wasn't ignorant of Hart's failings. It was a good chance he was lying about the canisters, and Jack was willing to bet whatever immortality he had that, once Hart and Ianto found that first canister, that Hart would try to dump his 'companion'.

"You have done nothing but question my decisions since I got back," he went on, "that will now stop. I am in charge, and that isn't going to change. What you did in front of Hart was dangerous, and it could have played into his hands. Make no mistake, Gwen…that man is deadly. He will not hesitate to kill to get what he wants. And, right now, he wants those canisters, no matter what's inside them. Pairing you with Owen is the best chance to save your life."

Gwen's eyes had widened as she processed what Jack was telling her…which, in Jack's opinion, was a good thing. Gwen was headstrong, and thought she was in the right. She needed someone to show her that she wasn't, and quite honestly he didn't want to get her killed to prove that point.

"Now," he finished, "go with Owen and see if you can find that canister. The sooner we get them all, the sooner we can finish the rest of this conversation. Because, don't think I'm going to let you get away with questioning me in front of a possible enemy combatant. That was more shades of wrong than I can even list."

Jack didn't give her a chance to respond. He turned and left the conference room, hoping to catch up with his mate before the mission separated them.


	6. Partners in Every Way - Chapter Six

Partners in Every Way - Chapter Six

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine...crap.

Author's note: Hello, and welcome back! Here's another chapter for you, and I hope you enjoy. And thanks to everyone who has been reading and reviewing and such. I appreciate you all.

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_**15 June 2008**_

"This is gonna take forever," Hart grumbled, frustrated as he pulled open one of the shipping containers that were stacked four tall across the shipyard.

Ianto didn't even bother to hide the eye-rolling. "That's why Jack said you could have your wrist strap back," he pointed out. "So you could actually use its scanning function to make our search easier."

He hadn't agreed with giving the manipulator back to Hart, but Jack had pointed out that the ex-Time Agent could use it in conjunction with the scanner that Toshiko had cobbled together, in order to find the containers quickly. Ianto supposed it was a matter of trust in Ianto's abilities as well; Jack thinking that he could handle whatever Hart threw at him.

The dragon didn't feel that way, though. In fact, he felt distinctly out of his depth, because if Hart chose to use the thing to escape, there wasn't a damned thing Ianto could do about it.

The only thing that kept him from removing the wrist strap once more was the fact that Hart wouldn't go anywhere without the canisters…whatever was in them. Cluster bombs or something else entirely, it was obvious that Hart wanted them, and he wouldn't run off until they were found.

"Where's the fun in that?" Hart answered blithely, practically dancing to the next container down.

"I thought these had to be found quickly?" Ianto demanded, using his own scanner to try to pinpoint the location of the canister. There was a faint signal, and Ianto wondered just how effective the device would be with all this metal around them.

"Well, yeah, but who says we can't enjoy ourselves while on the hunt?" Hart sidled up to Ianto, smiling seductively. "And I'd certainly love to enjoy myself with you."

"Mind on the job," the dragon sighed.

"What sort of reward do I get if I'm good?"

Ianto smiled sharply at him. "I'll kill you quickly?"

Hart leered. "Why, Eye Candy…you say the sweetest things."

"My name is Ianto. I suggest you use it."

"Ianto is boring. Eye Candy tells it like it is."

The dragon was beginning to regret talking Jack into letting him partner with Hart. The man was seriously getting on his nerves. "It's also objectifying and demeaning."

"You can objectify and demean me anytime!"

Ianto shook his head. This was old already; he'd had to suffer through Hart's advances on the trip there, even having to pull the ex-Time Agent's hand away from this thigh at one point, and was surprised he hadn't crashed his car. He'd threatened to cut Hart's hand off if he touched him again, and sickeningly Hart had seemed to have been even more turned on by that.

Hart leaving couldn't happen too soon.

Ianto used the scanner again, and the signal seemed stronger the next aisle over, and so he headed in that direction. Hart followed him like a puppy, not even bothering to help out.

"He won't stay, you know."

Surprised by the sudden serious tone in Hart's voice, Ianto stopped and turned to look at him. "Excuse me?"

"Your boss. He won't stay here, not when he has the entire universe to travel in."

"You think you know him?" Ianto asked, barely hiding his smirk.

"I spent a lot of time with him. Five years is enough to get to know anyone."

He'd heard about the time loop incident from Jack, and so didn't have to question Hart's comment. "Then I would guess eight years means I know him even better?" Ianto favored him with a raised eyebrow.

Hart looked a little surprised by the response. "I'm just saying you can't trust him. There are things you don't know about him that I do –"

"Really? Care to prove that?" Ianto hadn't meant to get into a pissing contest with the man, but this conversation was rubbing him the wrong way.

Hart was looking at him closely, as if trying to get into his head. Ianto met his eyes squarely, daring him to continue on with this, and hoping Hart would see that he would lose if he did.

"It's just, once a conman…always a conman," he finally said.

"Yes, I know all about Jack's conman past," Ianto said, hand-waving it away. "I know about where he came from, about his family…even his real name, which I'm certain he never told you. So don't think you can get me to think badly of him, because it won't work."

Hart reared back, as if Ianto had punched him. "Well," he gasped slightly, "it seems I might have misinterpreted things."

"I should say you have. Now, let's find that canister and get back to the Hub. I want you out of here as soon as possible."

With that, Ianto stalked away, the scanner out and his eyes firmly on it. Hart had tried to rile him up, and in a way it had worked; but not in the way the ex-Time Agent had thought. It had only made him angry at Hart for daring to get him to turn away from Jack, from the mate that Ianto loved more than anything. Not that Hart knew about that part of their relationship, unless he'd somehow guessed it, which was possible when considering that a con artist would be able to read people in order to get a handle on them. But he and Jack had been careful about showing that sort of connection in front of Hart, out of a need to keep their closeness secret. Hart might have tried to use that against them.

Of course – and Ianto cursed himself about it – he'd just shown Hart that he and Jack were very close, by that little display of one-upmanship.

_Damnit._

The signal was a bit stronger, and Ianto followed it through the rows of shipping containers, angry at himself for giving Hart any sort of look into his and Jack's relationship. He'd sworn to himself that he wouldn't hand over any sort of ammunition to the man, and yet he had. He felt like a fool.

"Down this way," Hart said, his vortex manipulator finally open and working. Ianto just wanted this over with, and was glad that Hart seemed to finally be cooperating.

Ianto followed, wanting to make certain that Hart was in front of him. The scanner was reading the same, so he was content to let Hart move ahead, until he stopped in front of a red-painted shipping container. He pulled the sliding bolt, throwing one of the doors open. "It's here," Hart called, making his way inside.

The interior of the container was almost empty, but for a bit of trash and a broken packing crate. In the centre of the floor sat a silver canister that was a twin to the one that Hart had showed them with his vortex manipulator. Hart was already picking it up when Ianto stepped into the metal container.

"It's not leaking or anything," Hart reported, flipping it negligently in one hand.

Ianto stepped closer. "Give that to me." He didn't trust Hart with the thing; while he didn't think the man would open it, there was something about him keeping what might be a dangerous weapon on his person that Ianto didn't care for.

He held out his hand for it, and Hart obliged, passing the canister over. It was cold in Ianto's fist, and he slid it into his jacket pocket. "Let's go," he motioned for Hart to precede him out of the shipping container.

Hart shrugged, then headed past Ianto toward the entrance. As he came up next to him, however, Hart moved fluidly, and before Ianto had a chance to react, his body had been pushed up against the wall of the container, pinned there by Hart's arm across his throat, and the ex-Time Agent was leaning in to kiss him.

Ianto reacted quickly, but not before Hart managed to brush his lips against his. He used his slightly superior strength to push the man away, wiping his mouth with his jacket sleeve. "What the –" he managed to spit out, but not before a wave of dizziness crested over him.

"Just celebrating," Hart laughed, sauntering closer, a wicked grin on his face. "The 21st Century is so frigid!"

Another dizzy spell hit, and Ianto found himself on his hands and knees, suddenly gasping for air. "What did you do?"

"Don't get up," Hart said, crouching next to him. "I mean, don't even try because you couldn't anyway." He rifled through Ianto's jacket pockets, pulling out the canister and his mobile, and then reached in for his gun. "Paralyzing lip gloss. I think Jack even taught me that trick. Guess you didn't know him as well as you thought, huh?"

He pushed against Ianto's shoulder, and he went down onto his side. He could feel the poison in his system, and he struggled against it, knowing he had to fight what was happening and to stop Hart from what he would do next. His muscles felt sluggish and tired, and all he wanted to do was lie down and rest…

"Problem is," Hart went on, "is that, if someone doesn't find you in two hours, your major organs will go into shutdown." He stood, and Ianto watched as his boots strode across the floor, heading toward the door. The boots stopped, and the dragon found his eyes tracking up until they reached Hart's face. He was grinning in triumph. "He and I shared something, Eye Candy. Don't take it personally…I'm just getting rid of the competition."

With those parting words, Hart left, shutting the door behind him. Ianto heard the lock slide, and he was trapped.

He knew he couldn't let Hart win. He had to fight the effects of whatever it was that the man had used on him, and hope that his dragon metabolism would work through the poison, that whatever Hart had given him had been formulated for a human and not a supposedly mythical being.

Ianto triggered his transformation.

The container was almost too small, but the dragon felt immediately better once he'd changed into his proper shape. He shook his head, trying to clear it, knowing he had to break out of the container and get to the rest of his teammates. If Hart had gotten one cylinder, the dragon was willing to bet he'd go after the other two, and his teammates – his family – were in danger.

He had to crouch on all fours in order to move toward the door, and he still felt a bit dizzy, but the dragon thought he was strong enough to get past that metal door. He dragged one clawed hand out from under his body, and then thrust it forward, hoping to be able to penetrate the container's door in order to get leverage.

The dragon was weaker than he'd thought, and it took him four tries before his claws managed to break through the metal. He took a deep breath, and then pulled.

The door crumpled with a horrible shriek of tortured steel. Using the very little room he had, the dragon tore the door toward him, and then pushed outward, demolishing it beyond anyone's ability to repair.

He made a note to put in for a replacement using Torchwood's damage fund, and made his way out of the claustrophobic container.

A part of him wanted to get to Jack first, knowing that Hart had designs on his mate. But, he was closer to Owen and Gwen, and could fly there quicker. If the Time Agent had tried to kill him, the dragon was willing to bet he'd try the same with the others.

Shaking off the last of the dizziness, the dragon launched himself into the air.

Hart had his manipulator, which meant he would have been able to teleport to the other coordinates. The dragon was far behind, and really had no hope in catching him up, but he had to try.

If Hart had hurt any of his teammates…

The dragon let out a roar as he flew at his top speed toward Owen and Gwen. Hart couldn't be allowed to get away with those canisters; he very much doubted that they were really bombs anymore, unless Hart meant to destroy a large chunk of real estate somewhere. Which would actually be in character from what he'd seen, but there was something in Hart's demeanor, from the casual toss he'd given the canister when he'd picked it up, that made his theory a sound one. Yes, the man was obviously unbalanced, but even the dragon didn't think Hart would actively mess with something that dangerous, if it was indeed a bomb.

It took him ten minutes to get to the warehouse where the second canister was thought to be. Circling the area, the dragon could make out Owen's car parked not far from a side door, and the dragon landed beside it, changing back into his human form the moment he touched the ground. The effects of the poison had obviously gone, and Ianto ran into the warehouse, calling for his teammates as he did so.

"Over here!" Owen shouted.

Ianto was able to find them easily enough, and he growled as he took in Gwen's disheveled and bloody appearance as she tried to help Owen stanch what was obviously a bullet wound in his side. He immediately went to help, and together he and Gwen got Owen as patched up as possible.

"It was bloody Hart," Gwen explained as they worked. "He took the canister. And where did he get the damned gun?"

Ianto felt himself blushing slightly. "He used some sort of contact poison on me and locked me in a shipping container. I managed to shake off the effects, but he got my canister, phone, and gun while I was incapacitated."

"And you were so sure you could handle him," Gwen accused.

"If it had been anyone else, they would have been paralyzed and died a horrible death," Ianto pointed out, not wanting to get into this with her. He already felt bad enough that Hart had gotten the drop on him. "I want you to get Owen back to the Hub, and I'm going after Jack and Tosh. Hart will go there next."

"I'll be fine," Owen assured him. With Ianto's help, the medic stood, although he looked hardly steady on his feet. "Go after Tosh and Harkness. And get that bastard, yeah?"

Ianto squeezed Owen's shoulder. "Count on it."

Together, he and Gwen managed to get Owen back to his car, and Ianto waited until Gwen had put the vehicle into gear and was heading out before changing back into his dragon form. Once again, he launched himself upward, worried about his mate and best friend, and hoping he would get there in time to stop Hart from trying anything.

Wings propelling him forward, the dragon flew as fast as he could toward the final set of coordinates, vowing to have words with Jack about letting Hart have his vortex manipulator back. The ex-Time Agent had such a head start…anything could be happening, and the dragon would be powerless to do anything after the event.

The office building that had been the source of the third Rift reading came into view as the dragon was castigating himself for letting Hart get the better of him. He put on a burst of speed, his stronger dragon vision making out two forms on the roof of the building. One of them was in a long coat; Jack, it was obviously Jack. And the second…

Suddenly pushed Jack off the roof.


	7. Partners in Every Way - Chapter Seven

Partners in Every Way - Chapter Seven

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine... *pouts*

Author's note: Welcome to the next chapter! Hope you enjoy. :)

* * *

_**15 June 2008**_

Jack was worried about his mate, going off with Hart.

He stood in the garage and watched as Ianto's Audi pulled away, gnawing at his lower lip without knowing he was doing it until Toshiko put a hand on his arm and brought his attention to it. "He's going to be fine, Jack."

"I know," Jack sighed. It didn't stop him from worrying, no matter that he trusted Ianto to look after himself. It was Hart whom he didn't trust, and he couldn't help but wonder what sort of trick his ex-partner might actually try on his mate.

He gave her a wide grin, trying to hide his concern. "Let's get going, shall we?" He offered her his arm, which she took, and he escorted her to the passenger side of the SUV. Gallantly he opened the door for her, holding her hand as she got in.

"Thank you, kind sir," she giggled as he shut the door. Jack headed over to the driver's side and clambered in, sliding the key into the ignition and gunning the engine.

The coordinates took them to a high-rise office building near City Centre. Toshiko got out of the vehicle, her scanner out and pointing toward the high-rise. "The Rift was active at these coordinates, approximately two hundred feet above us. "

"That probably means the top floor," Jack said, "or the roof. Let's get started." Jack headed toward the building's glass door, which he opened with his vortex manipulator. He held the door open for her. "Ladies' first."

Toshiko inclined her head toward him, and then entered. "I hope you don't say that to Ianto."

Together they headed across the tiled foyer, toward the bank of lifts. "I can truthfully say that Ianto is no lady," he leered happily, calling the nearest lift down.

She rolled her eyes. "I should hope not."

The lift made a soft dinging sound as it opened, and Jack waved her inside, getting inside after her. "I do have it on good authority that Ianto makes an excellent Mum for our family, though." It was one of the things he remembered from before that Year, the conversation about just who were Torchwood's mother and father. And he couldn't dismiss the analogy; Ianto was the carer of their group, always making certain everything was all right and that they had everything that they would need at any time. It was the very definition of 'Mother'.

That made her laugh out loud. "I wouldn't say that to Ianto, either."

Jack pouted. "You're taking away all my fun!"

Toshiko reached across and pressed the button for the top floor. "I'm quite certain you can find something else fun to talk about."

"I could always quiz you about you and Kathy." He'd been surprised that Toshiko had gotten into a relationship with the acerbic detective inspector, but then Toshiko deserved to be happy with someone. And it meant that the long-ago crush over Owen had finally been put to rest.

A faint blush painted itself across her cheeks. "No, you don't have to."

"If I'm the Dad of Torchwood, then I think it's my duty to have the Talk with her, about her intentions toward my daughter." Jack was enjoying teasing her, knowing that she was finally with someone who made her happy. "Or maybe I should get your dragon-Mum to give you the 'birds and the bees' speech."

That caused Toshiko to crack up. "I'm quite sure 'Mum's' had enough trouble trying to explain it to you!"

"I'll have you know I'm quite skilled in that area," Jack protested, trying to keep his own laughter under control. "After all, where do you think you kids came from?"

Toshiko looked like she having trouble breathing. "Does this mean we get to be grossed out at the idea of you and Ianto having sex?"

"Owen already claims that. Besides, having sex with Ianto is hardly gross! Well, unless you count the –"

"Jack!"

"What?" He tried to look innocent but knew he was failing miserably.

The lift opened, and they found themselves in a short hallway, and Toshiko steered them toward the left, and through a door into an open-plan office, most of the lights off.

"Oh yeah," Jack grinned, glancing around. Desks were lined up in rows, and filing cabinets and various pieces of office machinery lined the walls. "Loving that office-y feel."

Toshiko rolled her eyes, her laughter just below the surface. "Why did I think you had an office kink?"

"Maybe because Ianto spends so much time in my office with the door closed?"

She snorted. "Some fetishes should be kept to yourself."

Jack couldn't help but chuckle. "You know, while we're here maybe I can photocopy my –"

"Jack!"

"It's just for Ianto, I promise!"

"Don't you dare go whipping any parts of your anatomy out in front of me!"

"I wouldn't even consider it," he reassured her. It felt so good joking around with her, letting himself just have fun, even though the mission was serious.

He stood there in the middle of the office space. "We're going to have to search every drawer, bin, and plant pot." That canister could have been anywhere in the office, it was certainly small enough.

"It'll certainly be easier with my scanner." Toshiko waggled it in his direction.

"And my wrist strap." He held it up. "Why don't I head up to the roof? Splitting up might be the best thing to do."

"You're only suggesting that because you enjoy roofs," she accused lightly.

"I'm very good on roofs."

"I'm sure if I asked Ianto, he'd agree with that assessment?"

Jack waggled his eyebrows at her. "I don't kiss and tell."

Toshiko shook her head. "I'll start my scans down here. You check the roof. If you don't find anything…"

"I'll come back down and help you," he finished.

"Why do I get the feeling you got the better of the deal?" she asked, hands on her hips.

"Well, I am in charge, after all," he answered, winking. "It's the perks of the job."

Toshiko made a shooing motion with her hand, while the other held the scanner out and ready.

Jack pushed the door open, heading toward the door that was marked as the roof access. Despite his worry about his mate, he couldn't help but whistle as he took the steps three at a time, having enjoyed his playful banter with Toshiko. He'd missed his team over the last year, and it looked as if things were going back to normal. Now, he just needed to get John Hart out of Cardiff and the 21st Century, and he would be happy.

He did wonder exactly what Hart was doing. Jack didn't really believe the entire 'cluster bombs' story, but he couldn't take the risk that he was being at least partially honest about it. And now, the man was off with Jack's mate, and a part of Jack wanted to go and stake a claim on Ianto…while major part had no other desire but to protect the dragon, despite knowing damned well that Ianto could handle himself.

The night air ruffled his hair and blew the tails of his coat as Jack emerged onto the roof, gravel crunching under his boots. He flipped open his wrist strap, punching the button that would activate the scanning function. He had the readings that Toshiko had taken from the Rift spike that had deposited the canisters, and there would be residual energy marking the canister's location.

Jack quickly scanned the area, his manipulator beeping as he moved toward the edge. He saw it quickly; it was resting on the lip of the roof, and he thought he might be lucky that a stiff wind hadn't blown it off the side of the building. Striding forward, he picked it up, hefting the metallic cylinder, testing its weight. His vortex manipulator hadn't detected any sort of radiation, and now that Jack had a close-up look at the thing, he really did doubt that it was any sort of bomb. Yes, he'd seen such things in his stint with the Time Agency, but this…wasn't right. He couldn't put his finger on it, on just what was wrong with the canister…

He heard the rooftop access door open, and it crossed his mind that Toshiko wouldn't have been finished with her search of the office…

Jack turned to see John Hart making his way across the roof, a rather salacious grin on his face. He was holding a gun, and he recognized it as Torchwood issue. Jack wondered where he'd gotten it.

At that moment, Jack's mobile rang. He resisted pulling it from his pocket, knowing that it was most likely one of his team, and not wanting Hart to get ahold of the phone and ditching it. It was too late for any sort of warning, anyway, he already knew things had gone balls' up.

"That would be your cutie pie genius, trying to give you a heads' up about me," Hart said, reaching toward Jack's coat pocket. Jack pulled away, glaring. "Canister, please." Hart held his hand out.

Jack couldn't believe how furious he was. He felt as if he'd stepped right into a trap, even though he'd known Hart was most likely up to something that didn't have anything to do with saving Cardiff. He'd been as prepared as he could have been, but that didn't make him any less angry.

But, even above the anger, was fear…fear that Hart had done something to his team, and to his mate. He'd been as certain as he could have been, that Ianto would be able to handle whatever Hart would have attempted to do, and yet Hart was there, looking as if he was the proverbial cat that had gotten into the cream. "If you've harmed any of them..." he growled, his protective instincts rising to the fore.

"You know," Hart said, shaking his head, "they really were pretty, but very stupid. You used to have better taste."

"Not from where I'm standing," Jack snapped. He didn't like the way Hart used the past tense; after everything that they'd been through, during that horrific Year, to have had this happen now…

No, he couldn't accept that Hart had actually killed his family. He was just trying to rattle Jack, and he couldn't let that happen. At least his ex-partner had claimed that Toshiko was all right, that it had been her trying to call him.

He'd go after his team as soon as he dealt with Hart.

"Just give it here," Hart answered, making a 'gimme' motion with his hand.

"Radiation cluster bombs?" Jack scoffed. "Really?"

"Let's not get hung up on details," Hart said.

Jack wanted to keep him talking, needing to know what Hart was up to. At least he'd just confirmed that this cylinder wasn't going to leak radiation all over Cardiff.

He had to trust that his team was all right. That Hart hadn't actually killed any of them. Toshiko had to be in the building somewhere, and Jack knew she'd try to either get to him, or to the others. Owen could take care of himself, and had been a major player in the Resistance during Saxon's reign; Jack would trust him to look after Gwen. As for Ianto…the dragon was the strongest of them all. He had to have faith that Hart hadn't done anything to him, and that he had no idea that Ianto was even more than human.

If he kept Hart busy…

"It must be a bit embarrassing that you needed our help," Jack commented, smirking.

"Must be a little humiliating that you fell for the scam, and that your precious team had to do all my legwork." Hart was trying to rile him, and Jack knew he needed to be calm. He couldn't let Hart piss him off, or make him do anything that would make him take precipitous action.

The man had to have the other two canisters. Jack couldn't tell if he did, but he had to assume it. If he got his hands on the final one, Jack knew he'd leave and that would be the end of it. He was angry once more, only this time it was because he'd given his former partner a way of escape, by handing back his vortex manipulator.

The problem was, he had no idea what Hart was up to. The canisters could be anything, and there really was no way that Jack was going to allow him to get away with all three. He had to find out, to know if it was dangerous to Cardiff. He had to put his worry for his team aside, and try to figure out what Hart was up to.

"Isn't that what you wanted?" Jack taunted. His hand inched toward his gun, not wanting to telegraph that he was trying to go for his weapon.

"What I want," Hart said, stepping even closer, "is for you to come to your senses. Join me, Jack."

It was all Jack could do not to raise his eyebrows in surprise.

"Back in the old routine," his ex-partner went on, "we'd be emperors. How can you stand being tied to one planet, when there are thousands out there, each one sparkling with wonder? We should be up there, claiming them for our own. Just like we used to."

Jack couldn't believe it. Hart was coming onto him, by bringing up the so-called glories of the past. He really should have expected it, and yet at the same time Jack knew the pair of them would never be able to trust the other, even if Jack were so inclined.

Anything that they'd had in the past, would never have worked. They'd been too much alike back then, much to Jack's personal disgust. He'd changed; he was no longer the conman who'd held a grudge against the Time Agency – although he still did that, even if it would never do him any good. No, he was different, and he had made a family and had a mate who accepted him for who he was.

He could never go back to the vagabond lifestyle he'd once had. It wasn't even the least bit tempting.

"Sorry," Jack answered. "Can't do it."

"But why not? What the hell is there to keep you here?" Hart was truly confused by Jack's refusal; he might have been able to read tells and figure out weaknesses, but he'd not seen just what Jack had now. "The glitter of the galaxy! The mischief we could make!"

"You know," Jack snorted, "you never really mastered that temptation spiel."

"It's not spiel," Hart snarled. "It's fact."

"Move on," Jack snapped. "Here I am, in a new life, and you're still churning out the same old tunes. But they don't play the same way anymore, now that you're looking older. And what are those, anyway? Wrinkles around the eyes?" He knew just where to strike at his ex-partner…in his ego, and his vanity.

"Laugh lines!" Hart declared.

"What a joke!" Jack couldn't help it. He knew he should have been trying to wheedle information out of Hart, but the man's insistence of living in the past was irritating him. He couldn't afford to let the man get to him, but it was far too difficult. The best thing Jack could do was to cuff him and get him back to the Hub, and throwing him in a cell like Ianto had suggested. They could then work out what the cylinders were.

"It's you I'm laughing at." Hart held out his hand once more. "Canister."

Jack knew he couldn't hand it over. Hart would take off, and while he was certain now that these weren't bombs, Jack couldn't risk there being something within them that could cause havoc.

He held it up to the little bit of light that was illuminating the roof. Then he smirked, and tossed it over his shoulder, hoping that it striking the sidewalk below wouldn't do it any damage. "Whoops!"

He could tell just how livid Hart was at his action. This was the man at his most dangerous, and when Hart moved Jack had known it would go down exactly the way he had.

Using both hands, Hart pushed Jack off the roof, a laughing, "Whoops!" following him down.


	8. Partners in Every Way - Chapter Eight

Partners in Every Way - Chapter Eight

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine, and will never be mine.

Author's note: Hello, readers! Welcome back! Thanks to everyone reading this and commenting and such, you guys are great!

* * *

_**15 June 2008**_

The dragon watched in horror as his mate plummeted toward the ground.

He could tell he'd never reach Jack in time, let alone get as close to the building as Jack was with his wingspread and hope to stay aloft, and he roared his pain across the sky. He turned away, not able to watch his mate die.

No, he would make the one who killed him pay.

With another roar, he flew toward the rooftop, where he could see Hart turning away from the edge of the roof. The sound of the dragon's anger startled the man, and he turned, his mouth falling open as he finally caught sight of the dragon arrowing toward him.

Hart turned to run…but the dragon pounced, one clawed hand knocking him to the gravel of the roof, pinning him against the rough material.

The dragon looked down at the one who'd just killed his mate. Hart was staring up at him, his pale eyes wide with surprise and fear…and something else, something that the dragon could not identify. He didn't care; all that he cared about was this ephemeral murdering his chosen mate.

It didn't matter that Jack would come back. It was because Hart hadn't known that Jack was immortal, and that, as far as he had been concerned, he was murdering his ex-partner in cold blood. Even if Hart _had_ known, there was no excuse for tossing someone they'd supposedly once had feelings for off of a hi-rise.

Lips peeling back in a snarl of pure rage, the dragon glared down at the pinned man. "Give me one good reason why I should not kill you now," he growled, flexing his claws so that they dug into the gravel and tar of the roof to each side of Hart's body.

"What the hell are you doing –" Hart choked off his words, trying to wriggle but not getting very far.

"You have killed my mate," the dragon answered. "You do not deserve to live."

"I've killed a lot of people –"

"Jack Harkness," he growled. "Jack was my mate, and he is lying dead on the pavement below because of you."

An expression crossed Hart's face, but it was gone so fast that the dragon wasn't able to figure out what it was. "Wait!" Hart exclaimed. "I can make it worth your while to keep me alive!"

"And what do you think you have that is worth that much that I should set aside my vengeance?" The dragon narrowed his eyes at the squirming man.

"An Arcadian diamond," Hart said somewhat breathlessly. "One of the most valuable gems in the Damascene Cluster. You could buy this entire backward planet with just a fraction of its value. I'll split it with you! Fifty-fifty!"

The dragon couldn't believe it. "I see," he growled. "So, you're offering me half of an extremely rare gemstone in payment for murdering my mate." The rage within him was stoking his inner flame, and he knew that Hart had to feel it, judging from the sweat that was breaking out on his face…or perhaps that was just fear.

"Okay, okay! Sixty-forty!"

"And just why do you think I'd be interested in such an object?" He was beginning to put a few things together, and he was curious to know if Hart would confirm what he was beginning to suspect.

Hart was staring up at him, his pale eyes calculating. "Dragons do like shiny baubles, don't they?" he asked slyly.

"And just where did you hear that?" It could have been from anywhere; while most information about dragons was found in myth and fiction, one of the things that were consistently correct was the need for dragons to hoard.

Something shifted in Hart's face once more. "Who doesn't like pretties?"

It was a nice cover, but he had to wonder if there was more to it. Then he dismissed the notion, because how could anyone know about his kind? He was the last, and he would remain hidden. It was just Hart's attempt to bribe him using something he most likely got from an inaccurate fairy story.

"Where do you think you'd get something like that, anyway?" the dragon inquired.

"If you kill me, you won't ever know that, would you?"

The dragon wanted to wipe that smug look off of the ephemeral's face.

The sudden sound of the rooftop access door banging open had the dragon looking up from his prey, to see Toshiko come out onto the roof, her gun drawn. It went down at her side the moment she saw that Hart was down, and came across to join the dragon. There was a bruise on her forehead, and he let that fuel his fury too. "Are you all right?" he asked. "Take his wrist strap, please; I don't want him vanishing on us."

"I'm fine," she answered as she did as he asked. "Hart got the drop on me when he lured me out of the office downstairs by summoning the lift. He hit me, claimed that the entire team was in danger, and then pushed me into the lift and sent it downward. I was going to see if I could find you all, but I heard your roar and knew you were already here." She stepped back, pocketing the vortex manipulator.

"Owen and Gwen are on their way back to the Hub," the dragon said. "Hart here thought he'd locked me inside a cargo container after trying to dose me with something, but I was able to get out."

"Eye Candy?" Hart's incredulous voice brought the dragon's attention back to the pinned ex-Time Agent.

"I dislike that name," the dragon snapped. "Please refrain from calling me that again."

"What about Jack?" Toshiko asked worriedly.

"This bastard threw him off the building." The claws clenched again, and the dragon would have worried about the condition of the roof if he hadn't had his mate's killer under those self-same claws. "And then he attempted to bribe me in order to let him go."

Toshiko's gun came up once more, aimed right at Hart's head.

"Whoa!" the man cried. "Can't we work something out?"

"Shut up," the dragon snarled. He looked back up at Toshiko. "Will you…look after Jack?"

"Of course I will." His friend holstered her weapon. "What are you going to do with him?"

He considered that. The dragon wanted nothing more than to kill Hart and leave the body for the scavengers, but he knew that any sort of corpse would bring unwanted attention. The ephemeral certainly deserved the vengeance that was his to mete out, after what he'd done to his mate, but the dragon also knew that Jack would come back. Still, he'd killed the Master for Jack; and he would do so for anyone else who hurt the man he loved.

There was still the question of the canisters. Even though Hart hadn't admitted as such, the dragon was getting the impression that this so-called Arcadian diamond had something to do with their search. Of course, he could be wrong, and the cylinders could be dangerous, but he was beginning to doubt that.

Still, he couldn't very well kill Hart without knowing more about what was going on.

"I'm going to take him back to the Hub," he finally said. "Will you…will you make sure Jack gets back there as well?" He really wanted nothing more than to be there when Jack came back, but he didn't trust Hart not to make some sort of move on Toshiko. He wasn't going to risk her like that, not when he could get Hart back there faster, and safer. And possibly give the man a scare for good measure.

"I'll take care of him," Toshiko promised. "You can take out the trash in the meantime."

"Oi!" Hart exclaimed, although it was rather weak.

"Make no mistake," the dragon said, staring down at him, "you are worth nothing to me. The only reason you will still live is because we still need answers. That need will stop the moment you choose to step out of line. I shall not hesitate to execute you at the first sign of trouble."

"I'll see you back at the Hub," Toshiko said.

"Be careful."

"You, too." She gave him a brief smile, and then left the roof.

Without warning Hart of what he was about to do, the dragon pulled back his hand just enough to get his claws around the ephemeral's body, lifting the suddenly struggling man off the roof, his wings pulling them both into the air. He tightened his grip to keep Hart from wriggling free and falling.

Hart's shouts were nearly lost on the wind as they flew toward the Hub. The dragon had managed to catch sight of Jack as he'd flown off, and it had taken everything in the dragon not to land on the street and wait for his mate to come back. How Jack had landed would mean that it would take a bit of time for him to revive, and he only hoped that Toshiko would be able to get him off that bench before that happened.

The sight made him tighten his claws even more, in spite of the panicked cursing that accompanied it.

The dragon landed on the roof of the Millennium Centre, not being very careful with his prisoner as he did so. He quickly changed back into human, nearly having to tackle Hart as the man attempted to escape toward the rooftop access hatch. It was a good thing Ianto didn't mind heights, but he didn't really relish being pulled over the side of the building, either.

At least Hart seemed to have some survival instincts; once he realised where he was, he didn't fight anymore as Ianto wrestled him down the stairs and across the Plass and toward the Hub. Luckily it was late enough – or early, as the case may be – that no one saw him practically dragging Hart by the hair toward the invisible lift.

Ianto was enjoying himself too much to care, really. And there was always Retcon.

Hart did put up a bit of a fight, but Ianto's slightly better-than-human strength made it fairly simple to overpower him and get him tossed into a cell, after relieving him of the three canisters. He kept Jack's words in mind, that Hart should be able to find a way to escape, but he hoped that Jack would be back soon and they could come up with what to do with the man before that happened. Thinking of his mate sent Ianto's stomach plummeting into his shoes; wishing that he could have been there when Jack awoke, that he could have been the one to stay with him instead of Toshiko.

But no, getting Hart back to the Hub had to have been his priority. Jack would be fine, and he trusted Toshiko to look after his mate as well as Ianto to do his job.

He made certain the cell was locked and turned to go back into the main Hub, when Hart called him back. "Eye Candy!"

"My name is Ianto," he snapped, standing in front of the reinforced plastic wall of the cell and crossing his arms over his chest, "I suggest you use it."

Hart raised his hands in surrender. "Fine! Look, I just wanted to say…no hard feelings, okay? "

"Sorry, it's a bit too late for that." Ianto spun on his heel and left the ex-Time Agent there, needing to check on the rest of his team.

He found Owen and Gwen in the autopsy bay, where the medic was just getting himself dressed once more. Gwen was helping him on with his shirt as Ianto made his way down the steps. "How is it?" he asked as they registered his presence.

"Not too bad," Owen reported, buttoning his shirt. "The slug was a through and through, so it just took a bit of stitching. A few days off and I'll be right as rain."

"Good." Ianto clapped him on the shoulder. "How about you, Gwen?"

She shrugged. "My face hurts, and I'm just wondering how I'm going to explain to Rhys about a split lip and bruises."

"Tell him you took down a hardened criminal," the dragon suggested. "You'll be a hero, and it's not all that far from the truth."

"Sounds like a good cover story to me," Jack's voice echoed down into the bay.

Ianto spun. Jack stood at the railing, leaning onto it, faint lines of pain around his mouth and eyes. Toshiko was beside him, her hand on his arm in support.

"Get down here, Harkness," Owen ordered, jumping off the examination table. "Tosh contacted me and told me what happened. I wanna check you out. And no, not in the way your depraved mind thinks."

"I'm fine, Owen," Jack waved him off.

"No, you're not, and I can see it from here. Don't make me pull rank on you, Jack."

"Jack," Ianto said, meeting his mate's gaze, silently pleading. He knew that Jack would have recovered from the fall, but he couldn't help but worry.

Jack sighed. "Fine. But you all know I come back just like nothing happened. Then we can go down and question our 'guest'. Unless he's suffered the wrath of the dragon." The words sounded joking, but the tone was deadly serious. He made his way down into the bay.

"I only scared him," Ianto admitted. "Although I was sorely tempted to do much worse."

"What do you mean?" Gwen demanded.

"I mean," the dragon said, succinctly, "was that the man tried to kill me, he shot Owen, hit you and Toshiko, and pushed Jack off a tall building. It was all I could do not to drop him from a height on the way back to the Hub."

"You can't just kill someone in cold blood," Gwen argued.

Ianto rolled his eyes. "Tell Hart that."

"Okay, Harkness," Owen said. "Take off your shirt and let me check your back."

"You won't find anything," Jack argued, but doing as Owen asked.

"Let me be the judge of that."

Ianto could tell what was on Owen's mind: the year Jack had spent in the Master's hands, being tortured and killed over and over again. Jack had commented that, at one point, his healing factor had begun to fail, and the dragon could tell that their medic wanted to make certain that wouldn't happen again. It hadn't been that long since Jack had been a prisoner, after all.

"You know Jack heals when he comes back," Gwen said. "I don't know what you're so concerned about."

"This is why you're not a doctor, darling," Owen answered acerbically. "No compassion toward your patients…even the immortal ones."

Gwen's face went red, and she looked as if she was gearing up to argue with Owen, but Ianto cut her off. "That's enough. We don't need to be sniping at each other like children. Owen, you check Jack out. Gwen, I want you on CCTV duty: keep your eye on Hart; I want to know everything he does. He's tricky and I don't trust him not to get out of that cell on his own. Toshiko, you get a look at these canisters." He pulled them from his jacket pockets, where he'd placed them after taking them from Hart. "I want to know exactly what's so special about them, that Hart would try to kill us to get them. Jack –"

"I know, stay here and let Owen poke and prod me." Jack was pouting.

Ianto didn't let that affect him. "Exactly."

"You know I love it when you're bossy."

"Later Jack, and I'll boss you around as much as you want."

His mate's eyes twinkled. "Do you promise?"

"Bloody hell," Owen swore, "keep that shit out of my autopsy bay."

Toshiko giggled and Gwen rolled her eyes. Ianto glowered at the pair of them, and they both headed off to do their assigned jobs. "Once Owen's cleared you, we'll go down and ask Captain Hart a few pointed questions." He explained what Hart had tried to do on the rooftop.

Jack looked pensive as Owen prodded his back, checking for any leftover damage. "I'm going to be extremely pissed off it this turns out to be just some sort of treasure hunt."

"You're not extremely pissed off now?"

"You have a point. No one messes with my team and gets away with it. Hart has a lot to answer for, and I'm going to get those answers out of him."


	9. Partners in Every Way - Chapter Nine

Partners in Every Way - Chapter Nine

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, sorry.

Author's note: Here's the next chapter. One more chapter of this story left after this one. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

_**15 June 2008**_

Jack let Owen fuss over him, even though he knew he was completely healed.

He realized why the medic – and Ianto and Toshiko – were insisting…they were all worried about him after being in the hands of the Master, and wanted to make certain that his immortality was back to normal. He'd confided in Owen over a phone call that, at some point during that year, his quick healing had slowed down considerably, and he could understand why the three of them were ganging up on him over his latest death. It touched him that they really did care that much, and so he allowed Owen to poke and prod, while the others were off doing what needed to be done.

He could feel Ianto's eyes on him, and relaxed under the dragon's scrutiny. It had been so long since he'd actually _mattered_ to others, that Jack wasn't afraid to wallow in the warmth that it sent through him. "Did Hart say anything to you while you were terrorizing him?"

Even though Ianto was standing behind him, Jack could practically feel the eye roll. "He tried to bribe me."

"I take it that was after he pushed Jack off the roof," Owen snorted. He was using the Bekaran deep-tissue scanner to check on any internal damage. "Didn't know you at all well then."

"That's…not the impression I got," Ianto murmured. "Or else he's been reading fairy tales about dragons. He apparently thought I'd go for something shiny…he offered something called an Arcadian diamond."

Jack whistled. "Now, where the hell did he get his hands on one of those?"

"I take it he wasn't lying when he said it was valuable?" Ianto asked.

"Not at all. Arcadia was once a peaceful place, until the Daleks used it as a launch point for a major battle during the Time War. The place was destroyed. What diamonds were out there are the only ones left." The Time War had been devastating in its scope, destroying hundreds of worlds and time-locking at least a dozen others, including Gallifrey itself.

It did bother him that it seemed Hart knew something about dragons. It would be something they'd be discussing as soon as Owen finished his examination.

"Okay," Owen said, "put your shirt back on, Harkness. Everything is good."

"I did try to tell you that," Jack sniped good-naturedly, doing as Owen bid and hopping off the metal table.

"Yeah, well the last time I checked you didn't have an actual medical degree."

Jack couldn't argue about that, even though he knew more about his immortality than Owen did.

"Too bad," Ianto drawled. "I was really enjoying the view."

He turned and grinned at his mate. "I'm sure I can arrange a private show later on."

"I look forward to it."

"Christ you two, take that shit out of here," Owen groaned, putting away the scanner. "Some of us have jobs to do."

Jack laughed, heading up the steps into the main Hub. Ianto joined him the moment he reached the observation level, and he found himself in a fierce hug, which he gratefully returned. "I'm fine," he whispered in his dragon's ear.

Ianto didn't say anything, but his arms tightened just a little, before he let him go. Jack missed the warmth of that embrace. "Let's go and see what Hart has to say," he said. "He's about to get the biggest shock of his life."

Ianto rolled his eyes. "I think we should let me go first, and then you can make your big entrance."

"Sounds like fun. Let's see if he's been up to something and then go down and have a little chat." To be honest, Jack wasn't actually looking forward to it; he really just wanted Hart gone, after everything he'd done.

"Oi, Dragon Boy!" Owen called out, "I'll want to check you out too. We don't know if what Hart used on you has any lasting effects."

Jack's heart clenched. He'd known that his ex-partner had to have gotten past Ianto somehow in order to go after him and the others, but he hadn't thought it had been that serious. "Just what happened?" he demanded, resting his hand on Ianto's shoulder.

"He tried to use some sort of muscle paralyzer on me," Ianto admitted. 'He didn't get enough on me to really work, and my dragon metabolism got rid of the rest. Then he locked me into a cargo container and, by the time I'd gotten myself out, he was gone."

Jack knew exactly what Hart had tried to use on Ianto, and he relaxed slightly. The paralyzing lip gloss had been formulated for humanoid lifeforms; it would have had some small effect on a dragon, but not enough to put him down permanently. But that meant… "I warned you not to let him kiss you!" he chided. A sudden burst of jealousy surged through Jack, and he had to clamp it down hard.

"He grabbed me and went for it," Ianto defended. "And I did actually push him away before he got too much of a lip lock on me. Believe me, the last thing I wanted was that ephemeral's lips on mine." He made the word 'ephemeral' sound like a curse.

"Good," Jack said, tugging him close, "because the only lips I want yours touching are mine." To suit action with words, he pressing his mouth against Ianto's, the dragon sighing as he leaned into the kiss.

"Stop it!" Owen cried. "The last thing I need to see is you two macking on each other. Go and tear Hart into little pieces and leave the rest of us in peace!"

Jack pulled away, laughing. Ianto had a smirk on his face as he stepped back. "Your wish is our command, oh Snarky One," Jack intoned, giving Owen a rather flamboyant bow; to which the medic replied with a distinctly rude gesture.

"Perhaps later," Ianto answered Owen's salute.

"Not likely," Owen snorted.

Together, they both turned and headed into the main Hub itself, to be halted by Toshiko calling them over to her station. "Whatcha got, beautiful?" Jack asked, resting his hand on the back of her chair.

The canisters were set up on her station, and Toshiko picked one up. "According to my scans, these aren't any sort of bombs at all. In fact, they're almost empty except for a small, angular device in each one. And, the readings I'm getting pretty much match up with the device we took off that Blowfish earlier."

Now _that_ was interesting. "Seems like my ex-partner's been fraternizing with low-lifes," Jack mused, pulling at his lip thoughtfully. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"

The question was, of course, why Hart had had a creature as unreliable as a Blowfish go after whatever that strange pyramid was. He could have easily done it himself.

"Why didn't he just go after that device himself?" Ianto echoed Jack's thoughts.

"Guess that's one more thing to ask him," Toshiko said.

"No," Jack ordered. "I don't want to tip our hand. We're not going to mention the Blowfish or that device to him. Let's see if he incriminates himself first." He turned toward Gwen, who was at her computer. From where Jack stood he could see Hart on the monitor, sitting on the bunk. "Anything, Gwen?"

"He's just sitting there, doing nothing," she answered, sounding slightly irritated. "I thought he was some sort of escape artist, the way you made him sound, Jack."

"Believe me, the only reason he's still in that cell is because he wants to be there." He'd seen Hart escape from places that had been considered completely secure, and he wasn't about to underestimate him. "Keep an eye on us as we talk to him. First sign of trouble, you all have permission to come in, guns blazing. Ianto," he turned to his Second, "let's go play Bad Cop/Bad Cop with our guest, shall we?"

"You just say that because you know we both want to be Bad Cop," the dragon chuckled as he matched steps with Jack and they headed down into the cells.

"Why fight over it?" Jack returned, his hand touching his mate's. "There are other things I'd rather be doing with you."

"Don't you mean 'to' me?"

"There's that, too."

"You're incorrigible."

"Then you should know better than to incorrige me."

"That's not even a word, Jack."

Jack mock-pouted. "How do you know it isn't in the future?"

"Because I flat-out refuse to believe that the grammar of the future is that bad."

Jack laughed. He couldn't help himself.

* * *

Ianto stood in front of the cell holding John Hart, while Jack stood a bit to the side and out of view of the cell's occupant. The dragon looked utterly forbidding as he stared at Hart, his arms crossed across his chest, and Jack wished he could see the look on his ex-partner's face. Hell, it was all he could do not to grab his mate and drag him off somewhere, to have his wicked way with him. Ianto being like that was just plain _hot_.

"We know the canisters aren't dangerous," Ianto was saying. "The question is, just what are they?"

"I think you already know," Hart responded, sounding cocky.

Ianto's mouth turned up in a slight smile. "Perhaps if you hadn't tried to bribe me, your secret would still be safe. The woman who sent the canisters here…I'm assuming you killed her."

"You did hear the part about the diamond being worth a lot of money, right? There was no way I was gonna let her hide it from me. It all comes down to money, you know…nothing else matters."

"This is why you thought you could buy your way out of my wrath."

"Look, I'm sorry about Jack…but he was standing in my way. I didn't want to kill him."

Somehow Jack didn't doubt that. Hart had tried to get him to leave with him; he suspected that he'd only been pushed off the building because he'd tossed the canister over the side in order to get it away from Hart. If he hadn't he most likely would have been left alone with minimal bruising, but that would have meant his former partner's certain escape.

Although, Hart had no idea that they had the final piece of the puzzle that he was looking for. It would have all been for nothing.

"You know," Ianto mused, "I actually believe you, especially after your comment to me about 'getting rid of the competition'. I think you really do want Jack, and killing him wasn't in the plan." The dragon took a step closer to the hardened plastic of the cell wall. "Just what is your plan, Hart? Is this some sort of treasure hunt for a glittery bauble, and no one can stand in your way?"

Jack narrowed his eyes. Had he and Ianto been that blatant about their relationship, that Hart had felt the need to murder his mate to get him out of the way? His ex-partner obviously didn't know him anymore, to think that. If anything had happened to Ianto, Jack would have hunted throughout time and space for his killer, and nothing would have stood in his way.

"That 'glittery bauble' as you put it could set me up for life! I could do whatever I want, without having to worry about where my next bit of scratch comes from." There was a pause. "The diamond would support two, you know." Hart's voice practically dripped seduction.

Ianto snorted. "Coming onto me isn't going to work, Hart. See, there's something you don't know about dragons…we mate for eternity. If our mates die, we never take another. You killed my mate…not only will I never forget that, but I'll never be with anyone else, ever again. So get that thought out of your head, because I happen to find commitment much sexier than plain old wealth." The words were full of anger, and Ianto's arms were now by his sides, his fists clenched tightly.

"Yeah," Hart answered sarcastically, "well your mate was splayed out all over the pavement –"

It was at that point Jack decided to make an appearance.

Hart was getting to Ianto, Jack could tell. The dragon did take his commitment to him very seriously indeed, and it touched Jack more than he could say that Ianto was willing to stay with him for eternity. But he felt it was time to make an appearance, and so he did.

He stepped into view, standing next to Ianto, close enough to feel the dragon's warmer than human body heat.

The look on Hart's face was priceless. "That's…amazing. Seriously, you could earn a fortune in the Vegas Galaxies with an act like that! Come on, how did you do that? You were dead!"

"I can't die," Jack said, smirking.

"No," Hart said, shaking his head, "really –"

"No, really. You can't kill me. No matter how many times you try, I'll always come back."

Something flickered across Hart's face; Jack thought he caught pity and fear, but the emotions flitted away too quickly. "But what does it cost you?" he asked weakly. "Every time you have to drag yourself back here, all that pain and trauma…plus, you're reborn into this goddess-forsaken world. I pity you."

"You'll never understand," Jack said, shaking his head. Hart might say he pitied Jack, but it was Jack who really pitied his former partner. "There's so much beauty here, and you just don't see it." He put his arm around Ianto. "And then there's this: a mate, one who will be with me forever. Everything I go through to come back…this makes it all worth it. _He_ makes it worth it. All that I've had to do to get to this point, no matter how terrible…as long as I have Ianto waiting for me, it makes it all worthwhile."

Hart's eyes darted between them. Jack could practically see the man thinking, and for once he wished he could read minds, to see just what was going on in that brain of his. It was as if he was weighing everything he'd seen and heard, and Jack wouldn't put it past him to try to spin things to his own advantage.

Finally, the man said, "Look, I'll leave. Just give me the canisters and you'll never see me again."

"The canisters will somehow lead you to this Arcadian diamond, won't it?"

Hart nodded. "Yeah. Let me just leave with what I came for and I'll be gone for good."

Jack pondered that. They could let Hart go with the canisters, but he would never be able to find the diamond, if that pyramid device also had something to do with however it was supposed to be accessed. They could give those over and Hart would be gone, out of their hair.

"If we do," he said, "then you'll leave and never come back."

"You have my word."

Ianto laughed. "We're supposed to accept that?"

"Why would I want to come back?" Hart scoffed. "I'll have what I want. There's nothing else here for me anymore." He shrugged. "Sure, I'd love either of you to come with me, but I know that's not going to happen. So yeah, I don't have any reason to stick my nose back into this backward time anymore."

Jack got the feeling there was something Hart wasn't saying. "And?"

"And what? Honestly, Jack, you're paranoid." The ex-Time Agent rolled his eyes.

"No; I know you. And you know something you're not telling."

"I think it's been bloody obvious I don't know anything, as badly as I screwed this job up. Look, Jack…just get me some useful Rift coordinates and the canisters and I'll go back to my own time. You and Eye Candy can live in domestic bliss for all I care. I just wanna get my diamond and go back to the civilized worlds."

He knew he wasn't going to get anything else out of Hart, outside of torture; which Jack wasn't willing to do. "Stay put," Jack ordered. "We'll be back to let you know what we decide." He already knew what he wanted to do, but he owed the rest of the team their say in the matter.

"Fine," Hart said huffily, plopping down hard on the shelf in the cell. "Just hurry up, okay? I'm bored silly in here."

Jack didn't dignify that with a reply. Instead, he steered his mate toward the upper levels, keeping his arm around Ianto's waist.

He needed to talk to his team, and tell them what his decision would be.


	10. Partners in Every Way - Chapter Ten

Partners in Every Way - Chapter Ten

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, really.

Author's note: Hello, and welcome to the last chapter of Partners in Every Way, the Dragon-Verse version of "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang". Hope you've enjoyed my rewriting and will be back for the next story. Thanks yo everyone!

* * *

_**15 June 2008**_

"You can't be thinking of letting him go."

Ianto sighed. He'd known, of course; he'd known what Jack had been thinking, and a very large part of him agreed; anything to get the man out of their time. Certainly, the dragon within wanted revenge for Hart killing Jack, but more than anything he just wanted the man gone.

"I don't see any alternative, Gwen," Jack answered her, leaning back in his chair at the boardroom table. "We can't keep him here indefinitely, and you think killing him is out of the question…"

The dragon wasn't so certain that killing Hart was a bad thing, but kept quiet. He didn't trust the man not to pull something, but if this was what Jack wanted, then he'd back his mate.

"So, that's it?" Owen asked. "We give him what he came for, and he just sods off and leaves us alone?"

"I personally don't see why rewarding him for throwing you off a roof is a good thing," Toshiko added.

"Who said anything about rewarding him?" Jack smirked. "I say we give him the canisters…but not the pyramid we got from the Blowfish. Let's see how close he gets to that diamond without it."

They'd been cornered by Toshiko when they'd come back from talking to Hart, and she had confirmed that the pieces from the cylinders and the device they'd taken from the Blowfish were made of the same material. It really was a foregone conclusion that the four parts belonged together in some way, although it was a mystery how Hart had gotten in contact with the Blowfish without triggering the Rift to his presence in Cardiff. It was too much of a coincidence – and no one on the team believed in coincidence – that the pyramid ends up in Cardiff at the same time as the cylinders and they not be connected.

"Look," Jack went on, leaning forward and leaning his elbows on the tabletop, "he won't stay in that cell forever. He'll get out, and then he'll do everything he can to get what he wants. Who knows what might happen then? Sending him on his way is the best thing for everyone involved."

"And if he decides to come back?" Ianto asked. "He won't be satisfied until he gets the last piece of his puzzle, if the diamond really is that valuable."

"If he comes back," Jack said blithely, "you can eat him."

"Is that a promise?" He bared his teeth in a smile that he hoped promised all sorts of retribution.

"You really wouldn't eat him," Gwen said, her face paling slightly.

The smile must have worked, then. "Of course not," he waved the very idea off, "I don't want to get indigestion. I'd most likely just flame him and have done with it."

"I can't believe you're even thinking about killing someone!" Gwen was looking angrier by the moment.

"And what would you do if it was Rhys who'd been killed?" Ianto challenged. "What would you have done?"

"You can't even compare Rhys and Jack," Gwen snapped. "Rhys is normal; Jack comes back if something happens to him!"

"Yes, he comes back, but it's agony for him!" The dragon hated that Gwen treated Jack's immortality as if it were some sort of gift. "You seem to have no problem with condoning Hart killing Jack…when he didn't have any idea that Jack was even immortal! But when I want to defend my mate, you get all self-righteous and disagree! It makes me wonder if you'd even try to defend Rhys if something came after him, if you feel that way!" It was a low blow, but Gwen's cavalier attitude toward Jack's resurrections made him so very angry, he couldn't help but strike at her in some way, and verbally was the safest. It went against the vow he'd made in front of the Fae to threaten her physically.

In an ironic twist, it seemed that John Hart understood that it wasn't all pretty when Jack came back, judging from his words down in the cells about Jack feeling the trauma of it. The one person who shouldn't get it…did. And the one person who should have had more compassion toward her teammates…didn't.

"Stop it, the pair of you." Jack's voice cut across their argument like a knife. He glared at Gwen, who seemed to back off, and then turned to look at Ianto, giving his mate a small, grateful smile. Ianto nodded, dropping the subject, settling back in his seat and knowing that his mate was glad that the dragon was willing to defend him, but there was a time and a place.

"Now, back on topic," Jack went on. "Yes, we don't have any guarantee that Hart won't come back, but at the same time there are only two things we can do: let him go, or kill him. We could also turn him over to UNIT, but I don't want the possible future knowledge Hart has to get into their hands."

"And I wouldn't want my worst enemy to be in UNIT's custody," Toshiko said with a shudder. Ianto reached over and rested her hand on his shoulder, and she smiled weakly at him.

"So, those are our choices," Jack finished. "Release, or kill."

Ianto would have preferred 'kill', and suddenly he wondered if he'd have felt the same before that lost year. Would he have been so quick to use his flame or his teeth or claws in order to become an executioner? Yes, he would still have protected Jack with everything that he was, but he had to be honest with himself: the Master's rule had changed him irrevocably. Before, he would have acted in defense. Now, he was actually considering taking a life without pity or concern.

He was a bit shaken by that thought. The dragon had felt absolutely no remorse at killing the Master, and he doubted he would if he took John Hart's life. Had he changed that much that he could so callously murder someone?

But then, his mind harkened back to the murder of his family, and while Ianto had tried his best to push the details deep into his mind so they would not come back to haunt him as much as they usually did, he realized that he'd felt the same way when he'd attacked and killed those knights who had slaughtered his parents and sister. So, this wasn't new; perhaps it was just that he hadn't had someone that he'd loved enough to let the beast free when they were in danger? Examining his feelings, Ianto felt he would do the same thing if it was Owen or Toshiko or Kathy or Estelle or Alice and Steven that had been injured or killed. And yes, he would even move to defend Gwen, even though he had the distinct impression that doing so would gain him even more of the ex-copper's condemnation, especially if it turned deadly.

He could feel Jack's eyes on him, and Ianto met his gaze, nodding slightly. "All right," his mate said, "I think the best option would be to get Hart some Rift coordinates and send him on his way. Once he's gone I doubt he'll be back, since he doesn't really have a need to return. He won't know about the piece that we have, and we don't have to tell him. Personally, I'd like to take that diamond and shove it up his arse."

Owen snorted at that. "A gemstone suppository is just what that bastard needs."

"I'll check to see if we have anything coming up in the next couple of days," Toshiko said, standing. "The sooner he's gone, the better."

"And while you're doing that," Ianto said, "I'll see about getting us some breakfast."

"Sounds like a plan." Jack stood as well. "As soon as we get rid of him, the better I'll feel."

It turned out that getting rid of John Hart was quicker than Ianto had thought.

Even before he could pick up the phone to call their favorite breakfast place for an order, Toshiko announced that the Rift was still active at the place where Hart had come through originally. Ianto was relieved; he wanted this over as much as Jack did. The protective instinct in him was very strong, and it would only fade once Hart was on the other side of the Rift and back in his own time.

The dragon wondered if it was going to be like this with Jack forever. If so, it would take some getting used to.

"Toshiko, get the canisters ready," Jack said, after she'd reported the Rift still being active at the car park. "The sooner we're done, the sooner we can have the rest of the day off."

"I could use the sleep," Owen quipped, leaning against the back of Toshiko's chair. "I've got a Skype appointment with Diane later on tonight. Bloody nine hour time difference."

Ianto smiled at that. He hoped that a long distance relationship would work for the medic; he remembered that Diane had been good for him, before Manger had twisted Owen's perceptions and had convinced him that she'd been taken by the Rift. Even if, at the time, he'd thought the entire affair had been a bad idea.

Well, he'd been wrong, and chances were he'd be wrong again in the future.

Jack was grinning. "Give her our best, all right?"

Owen rolled his eyes. "Like we'd talk about you losers," he teased.

"Why should they mention us," Toshiko laughed, "when they could be having cybersex?"

"You have a filthy mind, Toshiko Sato," Owen said mock-severely.

"Takes one to know one," Gwen put in, covering her mouth with her hand to hide her smile.

"If you stick your tongue out at me, Cooper, then I'll have proof you never left school."

And for that, Gwen did just that.

Ianto couldn't help but laugh, and his mate's chuckles joined his, echoing though the lower gantries of the Hub.

* * *

They took two vehicles up to the car park where the Rift crack still sparked and snapped.

Ianto could feel it against his skin as he and Jack wrestled Hart out of the SUV. Jack had insisted on keeping their guest handcuffed with a special set of cuffs that were made of hypersteel, and happened to be a set they'd confiscated off Hart in the first place. The ex-Time Agent seemed very subdued, which led to Ianto wondering just what the ephemeral was up to.

It couldn't be this easy.

"The Rift opening is just over there," Toshiko said, gesturing with her PDA toward a corner of the rooftop car park. "It should be open for a few minutes more."

"Key," Jack said, holding his hand out to Ianto, who pulled the key from his trouser pocket and handed it over. His mate unlocked the cuffs, and Hart wrung his hands out overdramatically.

"Did you have to make them so tight?" he whined, rubbing his wrists.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Please. Don't forget I know what you're in to. Those cuffs weren't tight enough."

Hart gave him a winsome smile. "Which just goes to show how great we'd be together. Are you sure you won't change your mind?"

"After you killed me? No fucking way."

"Worth a shot." Then he grinned. "How about a new teammate? I wouldn't mind being around all this gorgeousness on a semi-permanent basis."

"No."

"Come on –"

"No."

Hart pouted. "You're no fun."

"I want you gone, John. And I don't want you ever coming back, do you understand? If you do, Ianto will have something to say about it."

Hart's pale eyes darted from Jack to Ianto. "Yeah, it's not worth my life messing with the Torchwood Dragon."

_The_ _what_?

Ianto opened his mouth to ask Hart just what he meant by that, but the ephemeral was already speaking once more, and the dragon dismissed it as another attempt at a cute nickname. Well, at least it was better than Eye Candy.

"I've always been a bit of a coward, you know that Jack." Hart held out his hand. "Wrist strap?"

Jack pulled it from his pocket and gave it back. Hart slipped it back on his arm, flipping up the cover to punch a few buttons. Then he held his hand out once more. "Canisters?"

Those Toshiko had, and she passed them over one at a time. Owen didn't look happy about it, and it was obvious Gwen was barely biting her tongue in order to hold back whatever scathing words she really wanted to say.

Hart secreted them about his person, his expression smug. "Listen –"

"No," Jack reiterated. "Just go."

"If that's what you want." Hart turned toward where the Rift energy pulsed. Then he stopped, spun, and quicker than anyone could react he put his hand around the back of Jack's neck and pulled him for a kiss.

Ianto growled angrily, but before he could break them apart Jack did it himself, pushing Hart away. He wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his greatcoat. "Goodbye, John."

Hart stepped back, and then spun on his heel, and with a touch on his vortex manipulator the golden tangled light of the Rift appeared. He strode toward it and just as Ianto was thinking that it was all over, Hart turned back around.

"By the way," he said, a playful smirk on his features, "I've found Gray."

A pain-filled, wordless exclamation sounded from Jack, and Ianto was three paces forward when Hart backed into the golden Rift energy and vanished, the light of it making the man's eyes glow eerily. They were the last things Ianto saw before he vowed to kill the man the next time he saw him, for taunting his mate with the knowledge that his only family was still alive, somewhere out there in time and space.

Nothing would save John Hart from the dragon's wrath if he showed his face again.


	11. Time and Tide

Time and Tide – Epilogue to Partners in Every Way

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not mine, none of it is.

Author's note: As the title says, this is the epilogue to Partners in Every Way. It takes place in the future, and might be a bit hard to follow if you aren't familiar with the Future Stories, especially Call of the Last. But it's a bit of a teaser for some other things I have planned.

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

_**23 March 5112**_

John Hart was getting drunk.

He felt he deserved it.

The former Time Agent waved the bartender over, and the Jaxian slid another double hypervodka into Hart's waiting hands. He poured the shot down his throat, reveling in the burn, slamming the glass down hard on the faux wood of the bar top.

He just wanted to forget the whole bloody clusterfuck.

Unfortunately, that wasn't meant to be.

He called for another drink, but the bartender didn't arrive in his usual, timely manner.

And John Hart wasn't drunk enough that he didn't sense the two looming presences at his back.

He turned, overplaying his drunkenness in order to lull them into a false sense of security. The two men were horribly gorgeous; both dark-haired and dark-eyed, one a little shorter than the other and with longer hair and an artfully scruffy beard. They weren't armed, but from Hart's perspective he didn't think they needed to be; they simply oozed _dangerous_ in a way that should not have been possible in what appeared to be pure blooded humans.

They wore matching red tunics, and Hart knew exactly what the crest on each breast meant.

_Fuck_.

"Hello boys," he slurred. "If you're up for a threesome…"

"Good evening, Captain Hart," the taller of the two greeted, sounding way too polite for his own good. "As much as we appreciate the offer, we don't have the time."

"Besides," the second said, smirking, "his wife wouldn't agree to it."

The taller man rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "And your mate would personally castrate you if you even considered it."

_Mate_? Oh Goddess, he was one of _those_…hadn't he had enough trouble with dragons and their mates lately?

"If you'll please come with us…" The taller of the two smiled calmly, but it didn't reach his eyes.

Hart knew the guy could afford to be nice about it, because he was going to go with them whether he wanted to or not. He slid off the stool, and heavy hands rested on his each of his shoulders, keeping him firmly between the two men, making Hart feel as if he were being marched to his execution.

Maybe he was, if they were on to what he'd just tried to pull.

Damnit, he should have knocked the dirt off his boots the moment he'd heard the word 'Torchwood' in that bar, back in the past.

* * *

His escorts teleported him into a well-appointed office, with a wonderful view of what only could have been the city of Gliese, if the lurid sunlight painting the buildings in various shades of red was any indication. That meant he could only be on one planet.

Hubworld.

He really was so screwed, and not in a pleasant way.

The shorter of the men shoved Hart into a pretty comfortable chair, keeping a hand on his shoulder in order to make Hart stay in place. They'd removed his vortex manipulator when they'd got him in the bar, and even if he'd wanted to escape, Hart knew they'd only track him down once more. After all, this was fucking Torchwood.

The door behind him opened, and then closed. Two men moved into his line of sight, and it was all Hart could do not to curse out loud.

Both men were drool-worthy. One was blond, wearing a red tunic with the same insignia as the two who'd brought him there, with a sword and blaster buckled at his waist. Sharp blue eyes met his, and Hart felt like the guy was trying to read his mind. He wanted to look away, but instead he plastered a smirk on his lips and leaned back in the chair, acting as if the scrutiny wasn't bothering him.

The second man was dark-haired and lanky, dressed casually, his own blue eyes showing a faint ring of gold around the irises. Here was the real power, if the rumours were any indication; ancient power, and it was most likely this man who'd found out about Hart's little jaunt to the 21st Century.

"Thank you, Lancelot…Gwaine," the blond said, nodding to the pair who'd teleported John to Hubworld.

The taller of the two nodded then handed over John's wrist strap, and the shorter gave them a jaunty salute then together they left the office. That meant John was alone with these two, who were probably two of the most powerful men in the Human Empire if his assumptions were correct.

Yep, he really should have run at the first mention of 'Torchwood' back on old Earth.

"Well now," John said lasciviously, "if I'd known I was going to be invited to a party, I would have dressed inappropriately."

"Captain Hart," the blond man said coolly, ignoring the comment and moving around the desk. He removed the sword from its sheath, setting it across the touch-sensitive top, and then he sat in the overstuffed chair. His companion leaned against the front of the desk, his rather nice arse perched on the edge. "It seems we have a problem."

"Now boys," John said, trying to relax but completely unable to, "I'm sure this has been a complete misunderstanding –"

"So you didn't just get back from the year 2008, where you tried to locate an Arcadian diamond that had been sent through the old Cardiff Rift?" The blond raised a well-sculpted eyebrow, and it was as full of disbelief as an eyebrow could get.

The other man simply smirked at him, not saying a word. But then, he really didn't have to.

"All right," Hart admitted, "so it wasn't so much of a misunderstanding then." There was no way he could deny it, not when he knew they had him dead to rights. He'd be lucky to get out of this with a simple rehab. Unlucky and he wouldn't be getting out at all. He knew the rules…one had to, in order to know which ones to break.

"Now," his interrogator went on, "I know very well that the Time Agency trained each and every one of its agents to avoid that particular era, especially Torchwood –"

"The Time Agency doesn't exist anymore…thanks to the pair of you!" He couldn't help but be a bit mad about that. "And I didn't actually get the diamond, which I'm sure you already know." No, he'd learned that his contact had gotten high on primitive narcotics and had stolen a sports car…and then had been killed by Torchwood. They had the last piece of his puzzle and they most likely didn't even know it. He wouldn't be able to go back and get it either, not after his parting shot at Jack. He was quite sure Eye Candy wouldn't let him live long enough to get even a 'hello' out.

"That's neither here nor there. What is relevant is that you did, in fact, travel into a prohibited time and interact with the historical Torchwood."

"Too much could have gone wrong," the dark-haired man finally spoke, frowning. His eyes flashed, the gold in them spreading to cover the bright blue. Hart could feel the power flowing off of him, and he swallowed hard.

"Merlin," the other man chided lightly.

The gold faded back, and while John had guessed who he was dealing with from the start it was good to have it confirmed.

Merlin Williams-Song was literally the most powerful Sorcerer in every galaxy that the Human Empire stretched to. Rumour had it that he was also the son of the last Time Lord, and John was willing to believe it, with his ability to look into the timelines. It had been Song who'd instigated the closing of the Time Agency, and he'd had the evidence of corruption needed for the Emperor to do just that. The technology and knowledge of the Time Agency had been folded into Torchwood, which put it under the control of the man behind the desk.

Arthur Pendragon.

The Once and Future King.

Pendragon and Song had come to prominence nearly fifteen hundred years ago, when they'd taken over Torchwood. At first, the then-rulers of what would become the Empire hadn't been pleased that someone claiming to be King Arthur was running around, but once Pendragon had made it clear that all he wanted was Torchwood and that the Imperial throne was safe, he was allowed to get on with it.

According to the history Hart had learned, that had also marked the return of magic, after so many millennia of it having mostly disappeared. That was thanks to Song, who'd proven to everyone that magic was real, and he'd begun training new sorcerers in the craft. The majority of the schools for magic were accredited through Torchwood, which gave them an even larger power base.

John remembered that he'd wanted to be a sorcerer when he grew up, but it had never happened. He was still a bit jealous of their prestige and power.

Now, Pendragon and Song were inseparable. They were _mates_.

But then, Pendragon was supposed to also be a Star Dragon, so that made sense.

"But I didn't mess anything up," John argued. "It was a complete and utter wash."

"That doesn't cut it," Pendragon glared. "You went into a prohibited time zone, and you knew what you were doing."

John couldn't help but be angry. All he'd wanted was the Goddess-cursed diamond, and he'd run full-bore into history. "I thought I was early enough to avoid all that bollocks." Instead, he'd met the legendary Torchwood Dragon, which meant that his ex-partner was…

And then, it really and truly hit him. When he'd first run into Jack, he'd thought he'd been running Torchwood for his own gain; when he'd said the name of his team, John had really believed that it was all a con, that Jack had known what he was doing, and that it wouldn't take much for John himself to talk him into leaving with him since Torchwood was such an historical organization. He'd thought his ex-partner had had real balls, conning his way into Torchwood, as Hart had assumed he had.

He'd been wrong.

Jack Harkness – his ex-partner – had been the first Director of Torchwood; the immortal who'd launched Torchwood into the future; who'd built Hubworld from the ground up; who was the ancestor of the Star Dragons; who'd done so many important things that their society would not exist if he'd been removed from the temporal picture.

John felt the blood leave his face. Why hadn't he figured it out before now? He'd put his foot in it badly, and he could have screwed up time beyond repair. "I didn't know!"

"Ignorance doesn't excuse what is a serious crime," Pendragon intoned. "The 21st Century was when everything changed, when Earth made its first steps to the stars. Torchwood led them outward, and changing just one thing could have condemned our present."

It was unfathomable. John couldn't wrap his mind around it.

It made him furious.

His ex-partner had gone and mucked about in the past, and had come up smelling like Oanan roses.

It wasn't fair.

Jack wasn't any better than John himself was, and yet he'd somehow gained immortality and respect and power beyond anything John had thought possible. He'd become a fucking _legend_ while John was a nobody, without much to his name.

He wondered where his ex-partner was now, and if he was still with Ianto Jones.

Then he realized it didn't matter, because he'd still be pissed off at them.

"We're going to make an example of you," Pendragon said. "We can't have anyone making unauthorized trips back to the past –"

"Which is one of the reasons the Time Agency was disbanded," Song interrupted.

"- and possibly risking a paradox…or even worse," Pendragon finished. "Any small change could have catastrophic consequences."

"Wait!" he exclaimed. "Give me a chance to make things right."

"And we're supposed to believe you'd do that?"

John floundered. There wasn't a lot he could actually do.

Or maybe there was…if he could get into future Jack's good graces, wherever he was…then his ex-partner could put in a good word for him. And there was only one thing he could think of that would put Jack firmly in his pocket. Yes, the last barb he'd thrown at Jack had been a sharp one, but if he could have it true…

He opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted when the door suddenly slammed open. He turned in this seat to see a beautiful, dark-haired woman storm in, dressed in a white blouse, dark red waistcoat, and dark trousers, a blaster strapped to her leg in classic gunslinger position, her hair in a braid over her shoulder. Yes, he wouldn't have minded a piece of _that_.

She looked about as pissed off as John had been.

"Might I speak with you two in private, Arthur?" She didn't so much ask as demand, as if she had a perfect right to barge in and interrupt the two Torchwood leaders any time she wanted, and to call one of the most powerful men alive by his first name.

John wondered who she was, although she seemed just a bit familiar.

Pendragon favoured her with another arched eyebrow. "We're almost done here, Madam," he said pleasantly. "Perhaps you could wait outside…?"

"Arthur," Song turned to give the seated man a look, one that John tried to interpret but couldn't.

Then he nodded slightly to Pendragon, who sighed. "Very well."

The woman held out her hand, and Song passed Hart's vortex manipulator to her. She practically chucked it at John, who wasn't quite stunned enough to completely fumble the catch. "Get out," she ordered.

John wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

He promptly scarpered, his idea on how to make things up to Jack tumbling around in his head.

* * *

Anwyn Harkness-Jones stood in her son's office, glaring at both Arthur and Merlin as if her very gaze could cut through the most space-hardened metal. She let her eyes shift into their dragon aspect, in order to get through to them just how displeased she was.

"Arthur Harkness-Jones! What were you thinking?" she demanded. "When Gwaine told me that you'd had Hart detained –"

"Mother," Arthur said, rubbing his eyes tiredly, "you don't understand –"

"I understand you wanting to save your Grandfathers pain by stopping Hart from going back to the past, but you both know you can't do that! Yes, it was horrible, but if you change that, you change everything!"

Anwyn thought her boys had known better. That they wouldn't risk disrupting the future. But to think they'd tried something like this…she loved them dearly for wanting to spare her Fathers, but they just couldn't risk it.

"Mam – " Merlin began.

She turned on him. "You, Merlin, even more than Arthur, should know the consequences of messing with time –"

"Mother!" Arthur shouted, cutting across her tirade and surprising her into silence. He hardly ever raised his voice to her. "If you would let Merlin and I explain?" He waited a couple of beats, and Anwyn kept her mouth shut, knowing that she had to give both boys a chance. They must have had a good reason for trying what they had, and she wanted to hear it.

"Mam," Merlin said, "we had to bring Hart in. If we didn't, then he wouldn't have gone after Uncle Gray."

That hadn't been the answer she'd been expecting, and Anwyn was surprised by that almost as much as Arthur yelling at her. "What do you mean?"

Merlin sighed. "I _Saw_ it…if we'd left him alone, he would never have gone after Grandfather's brother. The last thing we wanted to do was give him any sort of ideas, but we didn't have a choice. We had to set him on that path."

"We could have just ignored it," Arthur added, "but we couldn't, no matter how we felt about it. But if we hadn't prodded Hart to think about finding a way to fix things with Grandfather, he would never have told Uncle Gray about Grandfather and Grandtad. That would have changed history, and we couldn't allow that."

"You mean to say…"Anwyn swallowed, hard. "You mean you had to deliberately set Hart on the path to Uncle Gray?"

The pain in Merlin's eyes was palpable. "We didn't want to, but the timelines…we had to preserve the timelines. We would've given anything to keep our Grandfathers from hurting…"

"Right now, Hart thinks he's going to be doing Grandfather a favour by bringing Uncle Gray to him," Arthur said. "He has no idea that he's dealing with a psychopath who wants revenge on Grandfather. "

"And Grandfather and Grandtad both know about it," Merlin said, rubbing his eyes. "The moment I Saw the timelines twisting, we went to them and told them. They both wanted us to fix things, even though they both know what happened."

"It was bad," Anwyn replied slowly, "but something wonderful came of it. They wouldn't want to change that."

"We know." Arthur stood and came around the desk, putting his arm around his mate's waist. "We've done a lot to protect the Empire, but it's bad when it involves family. And it's not the first time we've had to do something distasteful to our own family…"

Anwyn's heart contracted at the expression of pain on her eldest son's face. "What do you mean?"

Arthur and Merlin glanced at each other, and she knew it was one of those silent conversations her boys often had. They both looked so sad, and she couldn't help but reach out and hug them both.

They clung to her, and finally Merlin was the one to pull away first. "Mam, we're the ones who took Grandfather's memories away…"


	12. Destination Cardiff - Chapter One

Destination Cardiff - Chapter One

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own anything here.

Author's note: Okay, this is a bit cracky, sorry about that. But this is a crossover with the television show, "Destination Truth", which is a quasi-reality show about a group who go searching for mysterious creatures. I just had this image of Josh Gates following up on rumours about a dragon in Cardiff...and this is where my bunnies took me. This is about as close as I skirt to RPF, but at the same time if you're in a reality show, I think you're an actor so that's how I justify it. Yeah, I know it's a lame excuse...but it's mine and I'm sticking to it.

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

**_24 June 2008_**

Ianto Jones stood at the coffee machine in the Hub, humming a courting song while his hands moved smoothly over the controls, a small smile on his lips.

It had been a good night, but an early morning Weevil alert had sent Jack out into the wilds of Splott, leaving Ianto in an empty house. He'd changed back into human form – since it was uncomfortable for him to sleep that way, and Jack seemed to enjoy resting beside his dragon body – showered, changed, and arrived at the Hub, with plenty of time to have coffee ready by the time his mate returned.

He was just pulling mugs down from the shelf when his mobile rang, with the ringtone that announced the call coming through the Tourist Office line.

Frowning, Ianto pulled the phone from his pocket, recognizing the number as being from the Welsh Tourism Board. He didn't get many calls from them; they considered the Mermaid Quay office to be too small to bother with.

He flipped the phone open. "Tourist Information Centre, Mermaid Quay, Ianto Jones speaking."

_"Good morning, Mr. Jones. This is Celia Allen, Director of Public Relations for the Tourism Board. How are you?"_

Ianto recognized her name, although he had never spoken to her personally. "Good morning, Ms Allen," he answered politely. "I'm doing very well, thank you. What can I do for you?"

This was a bit of a surprise. They usually left the Tourist Office alone, and would as long as Ianto was very careful to keep the tiny office's accreditation up-to-date. He could avoid any awkward questions that way.

_"I wanted to make you aware that an American production crew was going to be filming on the Plass starting on Wednesday evening."_

Ianto's frown turned into a grimace. That wasn't good. Sometimes it was bad enough that the Hub was built under such a major tourist attraction…but this, there was no telling what might happen if some sort of camera crew were in the wrong place, at the wrong time. "Really?" he answered, feigning being pleased at the news.

_"Oh yes," _Ms Allen went on enthusiastically. _"It's for a reality show called "Destination Truth". Have you heard of it?"_

"Vaguely." Actually, Ianto was fairly familiar with it; it was a show that purported to investigate such phenomena such as Yeti, skunk apes, and other mysterious creatures. In fact, they'd managed to get on Archie's nerves during their investigation of Loch Ness; the director of Torchwood Two had had to convince the Skarasen living in the Loch to leave long enough for the film crew to get their footage and to go back empty-handed. Retconning the odd tourist was fine; but an American film crew? That would have caused more problems than it was worth.

_"Well, they're coming to look into rumours of a dragon hanging around the Millennium Centre. It's all a bit of nonsense, but anything that brings attention to Cardiff can't be a bad thing, can it?"_

"Absolutely not." Inwardly, Ianto cursed himself. How had that particular rumour gotten back to a production company in the US? It must have been through some tourist, because the local business people knew about Torchwood, if not exactly where they were based, and anything odd that seemed to happen around the bay was always chalked up to them and their 'spooky-do's'…which apparently included a mythical, winged creature who had the tendency to use the Millennium Centre roof as a launching pad.

_"Their advance people will be in the area today," _she said. _"They'll be getting background on the supposed sightings, and will do preliminary interviews with local business owners and employees. You should be expecting them pretty soon, I believe. I do hope you'll give our guests a good first impression!"_

Lovely. Just what Ianto wanted to do today: show around a group of people determined to find a dragon. Little would they know the person playing tour guide was the very dragon they sought, which was an irony Ianto didn't want to look too closely at.

Then he almost groaned aloud when he realized just how Jack was going to react, let alone the others.

"Certainly, Ms Allen," he said smoothly. "I'll do my utmost."

_"That's all I can ask," _she enthused. _"Good luck, and if you need anything please don't hesitate to call."_

She rang off, leaving Ianto to wonder at just how quickly his day had gone from really good…to really, really bad.

* * *

As he'd predicted, Jack was less than enthusiastic about the whole thing.

In fact, he was downright pissed off.

"I thought you were careful about letting people get pictures of you," he said sharply, after Ianto had explained.

Jack had come back in with the Weevil in tow, and smelling like the very sewer the creature had crawled out of. So, he'd already been in a bad mood when Ianto had met him down at the cells.

"I thought I was," Ianto admitted. He thought he'd been cautious; he'd kept his eye out for anything that would show up on the internet, erasing or crashing or even discrediting it. It was part of his job to do just that, as long as with any and all true alien sightings that were posted online. "The only thing I can think of is that it was some sort of tourist who didn't get so excited that they'd posted their picture of Facebook or somewhere else."

"Instead they'd sent it in to some sort of reality show, and we're going to have them filming on our very doorstep."

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

Together they got the Weevil into the cell, and then Ianto followed Jack up to his quarters so his mate could shower and change. "Have you warned the others about coming in through the tourist entrance?" Jack stormed into his office, shucking clothing as he went and not caring where they were flung.

Ianto flinched at the mess. "I have. Everyone will be coming in through the garage entrance for the time being." He gingerly picked up the discarded shirt, pulling away from the smell. The cloth was also damp, which intimated that Jack had fallen into sewage at some point. No wonder his mate was being such a bear.

Ianto didn't want to see the inside of the SUV. He shuddered at the mess that had to be waiting on him to clean up.

"Good. Then, why don't you go and meet this television crew, and see what they've actually got on our dragon."

Ianto hastened to obey. It wasn't something he wanted to do, but at the same time he really didn't want to hang around Jack's anger, either. He knew his temper, and Ianto was well aware that it would take Jack time to work through it.

Not that he blamed the immortal for being pissed off. Ianto wasn't happy about it, either.

* * *

"So," Owen drawled, "Dragon Boy is a celebrity."

Ianto rolled his eyes. He'd just spent the morning with the pre-production crew from "Destination Truth" and it had been an interesting experience. "Not by choice," he snarked back, setting the tray of coffees down on the boardroom table.

Jack had obviously shared Ianto's new-found fame with the rest of the team by the time he'd finished showing the visitors around. Owen had wanted to know if Ianto could introduce him to Keira Knightly, his actress _du_ _jour_; Toshiko had pretended to be so awestruck that she would swoon every time she saw him; and Gwen had simply glared at him, disapproving of the whole thing. Ianto had taken it all in stride, until Jack had walked in with a "Destination Truth" t-shirt on and had asked Ianto to sign his penis.

Apparently his lover had gotten over being mad about the whole 'his mate was seen in his natural form by a tourist' thing.

"How did they find out?" Toshiko asked, taking her coffee. "You're usually so careful…"

"Apparently," Ianto answered, "someone got a very blurry picture of something large and green perched on the roof of the Millennium Centre." He pulled the copy he'd been given out of his jacket pocket, passing it around.

"How the bloody hell did they get a dragon out of that?" Owen scoffed as he took a good look at the photo.

Gwen didn't really look at it, but passed it on to Toshiko, who laughed. "I'm guessing they're taking the photographer's word that this is really a dragon." She gave it to Jack, who barked out a laugh.

"All we need is a young Steve McQueen and we have enough to make _The Blob,"_ he chortled. Ianto raised an eyebrow in surprise at Jack's movie reference. "What?" he demanded.

"You know _The Blob_," Ianto said, "but you didn't know _Lord of the Rings_?"

Jack shrugged. "I would have watched it a lot sooner, if I'd known Viggo Mortensen was so hot. Besides, I had a lot more time in the 50's to go out and enjoy myself than I do now."

Ianto had to concede the point. "But the pre-production team got ahold of it through a personal friend of someone on another show, and decided to investigate. The reason I didn't know about it was that it was never published anywhere. It was sent straight on to the person responsible for getting them their cases."

"We're going to need to be more careful from now on," Jack warned. "We've been able to head off any witnesses to Ianto's transformations until now, and honestly…this was bound to happen eventually. I just never even considered that it would show up on an American television programme."

"Can't we just Retcon the film crew?" Gwen asked.

Ianto shook his head. "Too many people outside Cardiff would know the reason for them being here. We'd have to Retcon at least half a hundred individuals in order to completely hide anything."

"Archie had this same crew out on Loch Ness," Jack added. "Luckily Nessie was cooperative, and kept hidden while they were there."

"There's really a Loch Ness Monster?" Gwen asked, surprised.

"Remnant of an attempted alien takeover in the 1970's," Jack answered. "A particularly nasty race of shape-changers who'd been stranded on Earth for centuries were using her as a food source. They lived on her milk, apparently. When the Doctor defeated the takeover, Nessie went back to live in the loch. Everyone thought it was the best solution, and Archie adores her even though she can be a real terror."

Ianto wondered when Gwen would stop being surprised at whatever she heard regarding aliens.

"Back on topic," Jack said. "We're going to do the same thing here. Let the film crew come, and then keep the dragon under wraps until they're gone. The businessmen around here pretty much know about it anyway, and will keep the secret."

"Hell," Owen said, "they know about Torchwood and keep that secret too."

"They're actually proud of it," Toshiko added. "It's almost become a status symbol: the closer to the bay, the bigger the bragging rights."

"You can ask anyone in Cardiff about Torchwood, and they'll be pointed toward the bay," Ianto replied.

"I still say I didn't know a thing about Torchwood until that night, at that crime scene," Gwen groused.

"That's because you just didn't talk to the right people," Jack answered. "Okay, let's get back to work. Ianto, when is the actual film crew going to show up?"

"Wednesday."

"And I'm guessing the Tourism Board wants you to spend time with them?"

Ianto grimaced. "Unfortunately."

"Then it'll be up to you to keep them busy. Afterward, you'll need to stay under cover until they're gone."

He gave Jack a heated look. "I'm certain I can find things to do until after they're gone."

Jack leered back. "I can always assign you…extra duties."

"Jesus Fucking Christ," Owen exclaimed, "just stop already!"


	13. Destination Cardiff - Chapter Two

Destination Cardiff - Chapter Two

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Don't own it, sorry

Author's note: This is the second part of this particular story, then on with something new. Thanks to everyone who have been reading and commenting and such, I appreciate you all.

* * *

**_26 June 2008_**

Ianto glanced at his watch. It was almost noon, and that was when the crew from "Destination Truth" was due to show up. He'd have been a bit nervous, if he wasn't so irritated at himself for getting into this situation in the first place. Well, he'd just have to get through this, and then the Americans would be gone without their proof that there was, indeed, a dragon in Cardiff.

He'd wondered vaguely if he should have called Her Majesty…and then realized that she would have gotten too much enjoyment out of it to help extricate him from this mess. Besides, the producers of the show might have taken it as confirmation if the Queen had called up and told them to cease and desist.

At noon precisely, the door to the Tourist Office opened, and two people stepped through. Ianto gave them his best professional smile. "Welcome to Cardiff," he greeted them cordially.

The woman he'd met before; she was Erin Ryder, a producer on the show; she'd been with the group who'd come a couple of days ago in order to scout the area. She was an attractive woman, with dirty blonde hair and a ready smile. That smile was turned on him as she reached across the counter to offer her hand. "It's good to see you again, Mr. Jones," she replied. "Let me introduce you to Josh Gates."

Ianto gave the man a good once over. Josh Gates was a tall, bulky man who looked every inch the adventurous television presenter that he was. His smile was, if possible, almost as bright as one of Jack's finest, and he wore his brown hair short, accompanied by artistically scruffy stubble. His grip was firm but he didn't try to outdo Ianto in strength. "Nice to finally meet you." His voice was just as friendly as it was on the telly. "It's nice to know that Ryder hasn't started exaggerating things. I was beginning to wonder when she'd described you."

Ryder rolled her eyes and jabbed Gates in the ribs. "Stop it, you. I have to apologize for him; he's been out in the jungle too long and has apparently forgotten his manners."

Ianto shook his head. "No apology needed. In fact, it's good to know there are more people like my boss out there in the world."

That earned him a laugh from the producer. "Oh lord, you work with one too?"

"Hey!" Gates exclaimed. "No mocking the talent, here."

That was when Ianto knew he was going to like Josh Gates. It was too bad he was there to hunt him down, though, for the purpose of good television.

Ianto came out from behind the counter. "I was told that you wanted to film something called 'establishing shots' today, before you do your actual investigation tonight?"

"Close enough," Ryder answered, as she and Gates stepped aside to let him open the door.

He ushered them outside. It was a beautiful day, and Ianto smiled up into the sun. Then he locked the Tourist Office door behind them and led them toward the Plass. "I'm certain the logistics of filming in a city is quite different than filming out in the middle of nowhere."

Ryder began explaining things to him as they walked, and Ianto found himself enjoying learning more about filming a television series. "And we've gotten permission from the Mayor to have the power to the entire area cut for the night –"

Ianto raised his eyebrows at that. He was glad that the Hub had its own generators, if they'd managed to get the Mayor onside. "I certainly hope the local constabulary has been warned."

"Oh yes," she answered. "They're going to be doing crowd control as well, to make sure our investigation isn't interrupted."

They continued chatting as they made their way into the Plass, Ianto explaining a bit of history about the Millennium Centre and the Roald Dahl Plass. "Have you ever seen this so-called dragon?" Gates asked curiously as the conversation seemed to lag a little.

Now, _that_ was a trick question!

"I've heard rumours, certainly," Ianto admitted. He couldn't very well pretend ignorance, when he worked in the area. "Apparently it only began appearing about seven to eight years ago."

"There are legends in every country in the world about dragons," Gates enthused. "I do hope we find some sign, although I have to admit looking for a dragon in a city has to be one of the strangest hunts we've gone on. Cryptids aren't usually found perched on top of buildings in busy metropolitan areas."

"I've seen the photograph," Ianto said, "and I have to admit I didn't get a dragon out of it. My boss commented that all we'd need is Steve McQueen and we could reshoot _The Blob_."

Gates laughed. "True, but we've worked with less. That's half the fun!"

Ianto couldn't help but chuckle at that. He had to admit, Josh Gates certainly seemed to enjoy his job.

* * *

Several hours later, Ianto was finally locking up the Tourist Office for the night. He didn't want to just go down to the Hub and run the risk of someone on the filming crew up on the Plass noticing him not walking by; besides, he'd done the polite thing and had made coffee for the entire crew, filling four thermoses of his best, and he wanted to deliver it.

He'd found himself enjoying his time with Ryder and Gates, more than he'd thought he would. Gates actually seemed genuinely interested in finding lost species, and not for exploitation, which was a surprise considering he made his living on television searching for what he'd called 'cryptids'.

The film crew had set up smack dab in the middle of the Plass. There were a little over half a dozen people settled around various pieces of equipment, and they all looked up as he approached.

Ianto smiled, reaching into his satchel and pulling out the thermos flasks. "I thought you might all like some coffee," he offered, handing each over.

"You are amazing," Ryder answered, standing and accepting one of the thermoses.

"It's the least I could do." After all, they wouldn't be seeing a dragon tonight, so he could make their stay a bit comfortable. "I'm heading home, so good night."

Several voices wished him one as well, and then as he was walking toward the car park a loud moan echoed across the Plass, and he couldn't help the smirk. It was good to know he could get that response from strangers, but Jack still did the pornographic coffee moan better.

* * *

Ianto had decided to go to the car park as if he was getting his car, and then sneak back into the Hub through the garage entrance. No one would be able to see him pull out from the Millennium Centre, so it was safe for him to double back.

The rest of the team was waiting when he arrived. Toshiko was at her station, a camera view of the Plass up on one of her screens; since the power would be cut to the area at dusk, and they would lose their views from the CCTV, she'd set up her own on the roof of the Millennium Centre, aimed at the Plass and the American film crew camped out on it.

"Looks like a boring night," she commented as Ianto approached.

"I hope so," the dragon answered.

"There aren't any Rift alerts predicted for tonight," she assured him.

"That doesn't necessarily mean anything," Jack replied, joining them.

"Which is why I'm here," the technician said, "instead of at home. Besides, Kathy is working tonight."

"She doing security for the Plass?" Ianto asked.

"It was all hands on deck," Toshiko confirmed. "Apparently dragon-hunting is a big enough deal that the Mayor didn't want anything messing it up, including any drunken yobbos who might try to crash the party." She grinned up at him. "Kathy asked me for your autograph, by the way. She said she's never met anyone famous before."

Ianto rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "I'm certain she has my signature on records at the police department. After all, someone has to sign for all the tickets Jack gets."

"Hey!" Jack protested. "I don't get that many tickets!"

"Keep telling yourself that, Harkness," Owen butted in, coming up into the main Hub area from the autopsy bay.

"Don't get me started on your citations, Owen," Ianto added. "The only two people here without the constant threat of having their licenses pulled are me and Tosh. Oh, and Gwen, but that's only because she hasn't been here quite long enough to get that bad yet."

Gwen wasn't there to defend herself; Jack had sent her home to be with Rhys, which in Ianto's opinion was a good thing. Jack had also said that, if the night was too quiet, that he would consider doing the same with everyone else, but Ianto knew that his mate felt uncomfortable leaving the American film crew alone up on the Plass. He certainly didn't blame Jack for it, since enough weird stuff happened in Cardiff to warrant the caution.

At about one in the morning, that decision proved to be a very good one.

* * *

Ianto watched as Jack spoke to the Sylians, who were currently carrying more recording equipment than the most radical Japanese tourists.

"Aliens?" Gates was practically jumping up and down in delight. "Honest-to-God aliens?"

The dragon had to admit, yes, they were aliens.

"You seem awfully blasé about it," the presenter went on. "Does this happen frequently?"

"Cardiff is…" Ianto sighed. "Cardiff was built on a Rift in time and space. A lot of weird things happen around here. People just…have grown up around it. We're used to it."

Gates was looking at him shrewdly. "I'm thinking you know more than you're telling, Mr. Jones."

Ianto smirked. "You could be right."

He could hear Jack jabbering at the Sylians, and they were nodding and making happy squeaky noises. Ianto knew they were speaking Galactic Standard, a language that Jack had yet to teach him, but had promised that he would.

"I can't believe we came here looking for a dragon," Ryder gasped, "and found aliens instead. Our ratings will go through the roof!"

Which was exactly what Ianto knew they'd need to avoid.

"You do realize that you can't show any of the footage you're currently filming," the dragon said, turning to look at her.

Ryder looked gobsmacked. "This is what humanity has been looking for for decades!"

"But they're not ready," Ianto answered. "Humanity isn't ready for the knowledge that we're not alone in the universe. What I and my team have seen…it would drive the average person insane on the best of days. It's not that we really want to hide this…it's that we _have_ to. There's no choice." He thought back about the Year, and what he'd seen on his travels around the Earth; of humans who'd worked together to defeat the Master.

But there had been far too many more that had been unable to deal with the knowledge that there was danger out there, that there were aliens so much more powerful than them, and it had destroyed them.

No, humanity wasn't ready. Some of them may never be.

He turned to regard Josh Gates, knowing that he had to appeal to the man's nature, to his need to find and protect creatures different from themselves. "You know the legends of the dragons."

Gates nodded. "I know that every country has stories of them."

"Then you also know that humanity was responsible for their extinction."

The adventurer's eyes narrowed. "Those are some of the stories, yes."

"If humans reacted that way to a creature that had evolved upon this planet for millions of years, how would they react to an alien who doesn't have such ties to this world, even if they were harmless?"

Gates didn't have a chance to answer, because Jack was approaching with the Sylians in tow. There were five of them, their yellow skin and wide, pale eyes marking them as different from the humans on the Plass. "Pardon us for butting in," Jack said, "but the Sylians wanted to meet the great Joshua Gates and maybe get an autograph."

This was perhaps the first time in his admittedly short acquaintance with the presenter that Ianto had seen Gates speechless. "The Sylians are the ultimate tourist race," he explained to the "Destination Truth" team. "They have very limited time travel capabilities and they often tour places of historical importance."

"The Plass gets more than its fair share of tourists because apparently we're famous in the future," Jack added. "But these came all the way to see you. They're great fans of your show, and they knew from transmissions that you'd be here tonight. Since they aren't really made for wilderness settings, they thought that coming here would be the best. Plus, it gave them a chance to see the Plass in all its glory. It was a win-win for them."

The taller of the Sylians – obviously the elder of the group – chattered happily at Jack, who was grinning very nearly like a loon. "Oh, and they also ask if they can get a photo op, too." He winked. "They really are the greatest tourists in the galaxy."

"You can understand them?" Ryder asked.

Jack shrugged. "It's Galactic Standard, the common language of several galaxies. I learned it in school."

"What school teaches outer space languages?"

Jack simply winked at her.

The Sylian elder was glancing between Jack and Gates, who was still looking a bit shocked by it all. "Um…" Gates had to clear his throat twice before he could speak, "sure, I'd be glad to give them an autograph and have some pictures taken."

Jack translated, and the Sylians practically vibrated in sheer fannishness.

* * *

"You know," Gates said, after the Sylians had had what passed for a squeefest in their species and had gone home – with a stern warning to let Torchwood know the next time they planned on visiting, "I suspect that you know more about this dragon we were supposed to find than you're telling."

Ianto quirked an eyebrow at him. "I don't know what you mean."

Gates smirked. "Yeah, I'm sure."

"Here, I've made some more coffee…."

* * *

Toshiko had no problem erasing the footage the film crew had taken of the Sylians, and replacing it with not much of anything. A judicious use of the lowest dosage of Retcon available meant that the time that the aliens had been present on the Plass was overwritten, replaced with boredom and lack of any findings whatsoever. It wasn't what they'd wanted to do, using Retcon could open up too many doors they might not be able to close, but there had been no way they could let that group out of Cardiff knowing what they did.

The glitches in the camera and scientific data were blamed on faulty equipment. It would most likely get the various techs in trouble for not maintaining things properly, but Toshiko was an expert in making such things look natural.

In the end, the "Destination Truth" crew went home with nothing.

Ianto found himself not at all being bothered by that.

Although, there was a part of him who wished he could have had one more conversation with Josh Gates. The man had seemed open-minded and knowledgeable, and the dragon felt that he could have been one of those few humans who could know his secret and be fine with it. However, that was not meant to be.

Ianto did see the film crew off with commiserations on not finding what they were looking for…and to make certain the Retcon would hold. Everything looked fine, and they were all gone by noon.

"So," Jack drawled, as he and his mate shut down the Hub for the rest of the day, Jack having given the rest of the team the day off in order to get some rest after being up all night. He'd almost called Gwen in to watch the Hub by herself, but Ianto had talked him out of it. "How does it feel to be a mystery all over again?"

Ianto snorted. "I can certainly live with it. I never asked to be a celebrity, after all."

"Owen's a bit irritated that he's not going to be meeting Keira Knightly."

"He'd probably scar the poor woman for life."

Jack laughed. "You're probably right. Setting Owen loose would do more harm than good."

Together, they made their way toward the car park, their shoulders brushing as they walked. "You know, if they do ever become suspicious of their equipment failures and weird memories…"

"Then we'll deal with that when it happens," Jack answered. "For now, we're going home and you're going to let me ravish you."

The dragon grinned. "I am, am I?"

"Yes, you are."

"You sound very confident of that."

"That's because you have me right where I want you."

Ianto laughed as they got into his car. "That doesn't make a lot of sense, Jack."

"Sure it does. Now, take me home and let's forget about television crews and anything else for the time being –"

And that was when Ianto's mobile rang, using the ring tone of the Tourist Office.

The dragon sighed, answering it. "Tourist Information Centre, Mermaid Quay. Ianto Jones speaking."

There was a chuckle over the line. "_You_ _know_," the unmistakable voice of Joshua Gates said, "_that stuff you put in our coffee worked really well with the rest of my crew."_

"But not with you, obviously."

_"Afraid not. But don't worry…as much as I'd love to be the one to break the news to the world that aliens really exist and visit our planet regularly, you did a really good job of destroying any evidence that we'd had. Besides, I understood what you said, about Earth being ready, and you're right. Although I think you were speaking from experience…weren't you?"_

Ianto glanced at Jack, who looked confused. "I might have been," he hedged.

_"Yeah, thought so. Well, our flight is gonna be leaving soon. I just wanted to let you know you didn't have anything to worry about. It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Jones."_

"And you as well, Mr. Gates. Have a nice flight back to the States." He flipped his phone closed, shaking his head in wonder. "It appears that our Mr. Gates is immune to Retcon."

Jack sighed. "Are we going to have to do something more drastic?"

"No. He understands why we're keeping it a secret."

"That's good to know. Now, how about we go home now? I have some ravishing to do."

The dragon laughed. "I should hope so."

He put the car into gear, and headed toward home.


	14. Jack of All Trades

**__**Jack of All Trades

Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own it, sorry

Author's note: Hello, everyone! Here is a short story, leading into the next adventure. It's a bit fluffy and fun, and it ends in a bit of a cliffhanger...sorry about that.

Well, not really. *winks*

Hope you all enjoy.

* * *

**_28 June 2008_**

"You're kidding!" Alice was trying very hard not to laugh, but it was a lost effort.

Ianto rolled his eyes, nudging Jack with his foot. His mate was headfirst under Alice's kitchen sink, but that didn't stop Jack's voice from traveling up to the dragon and his daughter as they stood, watching.

"I'm not," Jack answered, his laughter echoing up from the confines of the cupboard.

"An actual film crew camped out on the Plass, hoping to catch sight of some mysterious dragon?" Alice chortled. "And here I thought you were careful, Ianto."

"I usually am," Ianto sniffed, even though he was enjoying the good-natured teasing. "I could hardly help it if some tourist happened to get a horrible picture of me on the Millennium Centre roof."

"I'm going to be recording that episode," Alice laughed. "Although I'm sure you made certain they didn't find anything."

"They did find some alien tourists," Jack put in.

"No way!"

"Are you two quite finished giving me grief?" Ianto griped.

"Nope," Alice answered, grinning. "This is such great material."

There was a thump, then a muffled curse from under the sink. "You should come out with us some night," Jack said. "We'll do karaoke."

"Are you okay under there, Dad?" Alice asked, suddenly concerned.

"Just fine," Jack answered brightly. "Can someone hand me a towel, please?"

Ianto reached over to grab a dish towel from the sideboard. He passed it to Jack's waiting hand. "Are you sure we couldn't have had a professional come in?"

"I'll have you know," Jack huffed, "I've been doing jobs like this in the Hub for years. A simple leaking sink doesn't even compare to a burst pipe in the lower levels."

"If you say so, Dad," Alice agreed, smirking. She met Ianto's eyes, and made a circle at her temple with her finger.

Ianto had to agree.

"Jack's right," the dragon said, "you're more than welcome to come out with the team sometime. I know Toshiko and Owen would love to see you again."

"I'd like that. But what about your other team member? Won't she wonder who I am?"

Ianto considered. It was true, Gwen had no idea that Alice even existed, and he no idea how she would react to Jack keeping that big a secret from her, especially if the rest of the team already were in the know.

As if Jack was reading his mind, his mate said, "I don't give a rat's ass what Gwen thinks. She doesn't run my life, and she has no say in what I tell her or don't. She doesn't have to come with us if she doesn't want to."

Ianto wanted to hug his mate. It hadn't even been a year – in the proper timeline – when Jack had catered to Gwen. That had all changed, and Ianto couldn't have been happier about it. He would maintain that Gwen could be a good field agent, and she has proved herself in many ways, but she wasn't blameless in the keeping secrets department.

"Then count on it," Alice replied, smiling.

"I'll call you with details," Ianto offered. "But I should warn you: Jack only wants to go to karaoke so I'll sing."

"I'm not the best singer in the world, but if you want to do a duet…"

Ianto was touched by the offer. "I'd be honoured, Alice, if you would. Singing with family is always something that I will want to do."

There was another thump, then a clank and yet a second muffled curse. Ianto was getting a bit worried about just what Jack was doing underneath there. He hoped Alice's plumbing survived the experience.

"Should I be concerned?" Alice asked, unconsciously echoing Ianto's own thoughts.

"Not at all," Jack assured her. He turned his upper body just enough so his head came out from within the cabinet. He had a wide grin on his face. "I have everything under control." Then he ducked back under the sink.

"I should warn you," Ianto said calmly, "that, while Jack can pilot fifteen types of spacecraft, he has a tendency to blow up microwave ovens."

"You say that now?" Alice exclaimed.

"Hey, now!" Jack shouted. A bang sounded, and he pulled out from under the sink, one hand rubbing his forehead. "I resent the implication that I can't handle 21st Century technology!"

"I love you, Jack, but I've had to replace ten microwaves in nearly eight years."

"They weren't all my fault! Owen's not exactly innocent in all that!"

Alice was, once again, trying hard not to laugh. Ianto raised an eyebrow in his mate's direction. "I know exactly the number of times Owen has done damage, and even with the times he's tried to heat up biological experiments the number doesn't even come close to yours. And, apparently the Queen has gotten wind of the expenditures, and has mentioned it."

Jack snorted. "Lizzie loves me. I'm sure once you explained, everything was fine."

"We were put on a microwave allowance, Jack! We're now only allowed to replace it every two years!"

Alice lost it, laughing so hard she had to lean against the counter to support herself. "You really are just like an old married couple," she managed to say, once the laughter was under control.

"I resent being called old," Jack pouted.

"I hate to say it Jack," Ianto replied, "but we both _are_ old."

"You're older than me!"

Ianto shook his head. "You are so vain, Jack Harkness." He turned to look at Alice. "Remind me to tell you his reaction to the grey hair he found the other morning."

"Oh, please do!"

"Yeah, let's pick on the captain, while he's head-first into the plumbing…"

Ianto knelt and craned his head around just enough to be able to press a light kiss to Jack's mouth. "You know you love the attention."

"It's the wrong sort of attention, Jones!"

"I hate to break up the tender scene," Alice said, "but I'd like to be able to use my sink before Steven comes home from his friend's house for lunch."

"I'm just about done." Jack went back under the sink. "If you would both stop heckling me, I'd be finished a lot sooner." He mumbled something else that even Ianto's superior dragon hearing didn't understand.

It wasn't even a few minutes later, when Ianto felt the familiar build-up that signaled… "We have a Rift Spike, Jack."

"Damnit! Hold on…"

"I can call a professional, Dad," Alice volunteered. "I know you have to work."

There was a distinctive beep from Jack's Vortex Manipulator, backing up Ianto's sense of the Rift, and not even a second later Ianto's mobile rang.

He pulled it from his pocket. "Hello, Tosh," he greeted, not even having to look at the caller ID.

_"I don't know why I bother to call you about the Rift," _the tech expert replied.

Ianto chuckled. "Because you just want to talk to me."

_"Yes, I'm sure that's it." _He could hear the sheer dryness in her tone even over the phone connection. _"I wouldn't call you, but the spike is within ten miles of you, which makes it closer to you than to the Hub. Gwen's in the area too, so Owen's calling to let her know about it, too."_

Ianto wished she hadn't called Gwen, but didn't say anything. "All right, we'll pick her up and head on over to the location. Can you text it to me?"

There was a pause. _"It's on its way."_ A beep sounded in his ear, signaling the information on the spike. _"Readings say it's small, and definitely inorganic."_

"Should be a piece of cake then." He thought they could let Gwen do most of the retrieval, and see just what she'd learned. To be fair, Gwen hadn't really handled many retrievals and Ianto was curious to see how she did things.

While Jack had been gone, Ianto had not been as focused on training as he had in playing with individual strengths, and for that he and Toshiko had done more of the retrievals, leaving Owen and Gwen in the Hub, monitoring the situation. It wouldn't be the first retrieval she'd been on, but it would be the first one Jack had seen her on since he'd left. It was time for her to show off the skills she'd learned.

Jack practically catapulted out from under the sink. "Of course the bloody Rift goes off today!" he groused. He reached over and pulled Alice into a hug. "Sorry, sweetheart."

"It's fine, Dad," Alice said, returning the hug. "You realize if this had happened a year ago I'd be thoroughly pissed off at you."

"Then I'm glad it didn't." He looked at Ianto. "You have everything we need?"

Ianto nodded. "We're on our way, Tosh."

_"Sorry, guys. And say hello to Alice for me, huh?"_

"Sure will." Ianto hung up, and gave Alice Toshiko's message. "She's sorry she had to call us, but we're closest to the spike."

"Let me know what the plumber charges," Jack said, "and I'll pay for some of it, since I did promise I'd fix the problem."

"That's fine, I know duty calls."

"Still, let me know, okay?" He kissed her forehead, and then made his way out of the kitchen. Ianto followed after giving Alice his own hug and promising to call her with plans for going out with the team.

They left the house, and climbed into the SUV, Jack pulling on his greatcoat as he got into the driver's seat. "And here I was hoping for a quiet day with our daughter."

"She understands, Jack."

"I know, but that doesn't stop me from wanting it."

Ianto rested a hand on Jack's thigh. "Me, too."

"So, where are we heading?" Jack backed out of the driveway and into the street.

Ianto told him.

* * *

The Rift readings had led them to a field in the middle of an industrial park, surrounded by plain commercial buildings. The area was like a large bald patch in the middle of concrete and asphalt, and for some reason it made Ianto a little nervous. He couldn't pinpoint what was wrong; perhaps it was silence amid the obvious busy complex, or something that he just didn't have words for.

Gwen climbed out of the back seat, her scanner already in hand. She looked excited about doing the retrieval, and Ianto couldn't blame her. She'd learned everything she needed to know, and now it was time to show off a bit.

One of Gwen's weaknesses Ianto had noticed was her tendency to step in quickly without carefully checking the situation over first, and so he stopped her before she could go much farther. "Now, remember everything you've learned," he cautioned. "Just follow procedures and you'll do fine."

She looked a little put off by his comment. "I can handle it," she practically snapped.

"I didn't say you couldn't. I simply warned you to be cautious."

"You can never know what a particular artefact is," Jack added. "It could be anything. So don't assume you know what's going to happen."

Gwen nodded, seemingly content to take advice from Jack; but then, she always had done. Gwen had gotten a bit better, but she still baulked at following what Ianto would say. He wondered if she'd ever be willing to listen to him.

Scanner out, Gwen began taking readings, following the Rift signature toward whatever it was that had been deposited in the field. Ianto and Jack were right behind her, the dragon's eyes scanning the ground for any sign of the spike and what it had left behind. His sense of the Rift was telling him that it was close, but then he was a bit more sensitive than any device that Toshiko might have come up with. The technician complained that she should just stop making scanners and let Ianto find all the Rift debris himself.

It didn't take her long to pinpoint the location of the device. Jack stood back and let her work, while Ianto kept close without actually looking over her shoulder as she worked. "The scanner isn't reading anything," she reported. "It's just a box with a button on it."

"You can't be certain of that," Ianto warned. "You don't know what that button is for."

"Surely if it was dangerous it would give off something?" she argued. "You know, like Hart's so-called cluster bombs? They didn't give of any sort of radiation or anything that would show they were dangerous."

She knelt down beside the device, and ran the scanner over it once more. "There's no sort of energy reading at all," she said.

Before Ianto could stop her, she picked it up…bare-handed.

He was reaching forward to keep her from pushing the button when the world went white.


	15. Through the Looking Glass - Chapter One

Through the Looking Glass - Chapter One (TARDIS Ianto)

Authors: Cyberdigi and Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: We don't own anything here, really.

Author's note: This is yet another original story for the Dragon-Verse. This one is a collaboration between myself and Cyberdigi, and you can check out her FFN profile as well because she's fantastic. The story is also a crossover between the Dragon-Verse and the Blue Child Universe, Cyberdigi's series that is about Ianto...who is also a TARDIS. The Doctor's TARDIS is his mother, and you should really read it because it's great.

Each chapter will be marked so you can tell which universe it takes place in.

Thanks for everyone who is reading and commenting, especially PCJanto, who has commented on every chapter so far in this story.

* * *

Ianto closed his eyes, breathing deeply as he listened to the steady rhythm of his partner's sleeping heartbeat. Jack had dozed off during their post-lovemaking cuddling. Ianto did not mind; sleep did not always come easily or peacefully to his lover. Nightmares haunted his mind, making sleep difficult; if not for his immortality, the lack of sleep would have likely caused problems. So he rarely disturbed his lover when he was resting peacefully, if he could help it.

It was a wonderful evening. Jack had declared the need for a date night, to which Ianto only half resisted before agreeing with a warm smile. They had a delectable dinner at an Indian restaurant overlooking the bay and then walked around the Quay, arm-in-arm.

Ianto smiled; many who didn't know him would never think his lover such a romantic, and, indeed, it was something he grew into in their relationship. However, he sometimes wondered if it wasn't a new trait at all, and that Jack had just buried it under all of his pain and loss-because when Jack loved, he loved totally, not holding anything back.

By now he should have joined his lover in the land of dreams, but something was…coming.

He had no words for what he felt, only a feeling that something was going to happen. Something soon, and it was…weird.

Which really was a ridiculous way to say it. They were Torchwood; weird was in the job description. But this-this was different. It was more than the Rift or a temporal issue. He had _never_, not even with Abbadon or the paradox caused by the Master, felt anything like this.

He could only hope that it wasn't something they couldn't handle or that people word be hurt. But he had no doubt something was coming.

Hopefully, they were ready.

* * *

While Ianto and Owen were on a retrieval, Jack reclined at his desk, a lazy grin tugging at his lips, as he thought back to his and Ianto's wonderful date last night.

He had woken in one of his favorite ways, with his lover of nearly 90 years in his arms and his lover's arms around him.

It had been too long since they had taken time off for just them, just to have a date night. Not to mention in the last week or two Ianto had seemed...bothered. A feeling his lover said he couldn't quite explain; this was not unusual, being half-TARDIS meant he could experience the world and time very differently from other life forms.

He just hoped that Ianto's feeling was not a bad sign and that whatever it was would soon be here and then over with.

He was brought out of his musing by Ianto hailing him on the comms.

"Jack, I think you and Tosh need to get down here; the tech looks like it could be a problem."

"Oh? Something you can't handle?" he said with a hint of mischievousness in his voice, before continuing, "Is the tech that dangerous or something?"

"No, not that we can discern at the moment at least," Ianto responded, unfazed. "It appears to be a black box with a button on top."

"Really, that shouldn't be anything you two can't handle," Jack replied, confused.

"The button is _mauve_."

"We'll be right there," Jack said, rushing out the door.

* * *

Jack and Tosh joined Ianto and Owen in the empty field onto which the tech had been deposited.

"So, a box with button warrants calling in the cavalry?" Owen asked.

"A _mauve _button. It's the intergalactic symbol for distress; this is the intergalactic version of a red button and red buttons are usually not a good thing," Jack explained.

As Jack was explaining, Ianto made his way over to the tech, crouching within a foot of it to more closely inspect it without touching it.

"There's no telling what would happen if the button was pressed; as of now, this is to be considered highly dangerous tech until we have a better idea of what it does," Jack continued as he kept a close eye on his lover, who stood and began stepping away from the box.

Suddenly, a bright light enveloped Ianto, completely blocking him from his team's view.

"_Ianto_!"


	16. Through the Looking Glass - Chapter Two

Through the Looking Glass - Chapter Two (Dragon Ianto)

Author: Milady Dragon and Cyberdigi

Disclaimer: Don't own anything actually

Author's note: Welcome to the next chapter of this particular story. Once again, thanks to everyone reading and commenting. And a reminder - this is a collaboration between myself and Cyberdigi, and a crossover between Dragon-Verse and her Blue Child Universe, where Ianto is a TARDIS. I really hope you decide to check out her stories, they're great!

On with this chapter!

* * *

**_28 June 2008_**

Ianto felt dizzy, and a blinding light whitened out his vision. He stumbled, and would have fallen if not for his good sense of balance. He felt almost as if the world was twisting around him, like he'd been caught up in some sort of whirlwind. There was also a tingling dancing along his skin, and he thought it might have been some sort of Rift energy, but he couldn't be certain, and it was gone almost as quickly as it had appeared.

He blinked to clear his vision, and before he could completely recover an arm was around his waist, and he was being supported by a familiar body against his.

The dragon turned just enough to meet Jack's eyes; they were worried and were examining him closely. "You okay?" he asked.

"I think so," he answered. "I'm just a bit dizzy. What happened?"

"We're not sure," Jack admitted. "There was a flash…it came from the tech we found, but nobody touched it. Toshiko is going to try to scan it now to see what caused it."

Ianto frowned. Wasn't Toshiko back at the Hub? Yes, she was…they'd taken Gwen instead, picking her up on the way from Alice's to the retrieval point…

Before he could open his mouth to say anything, he realized that something was slightly off. Jack had started out the day wearing a light blue shirt and waistcoat; now he was wearing a dark shirt and no waistcoat.

Confused, the dragon felt for that itchy sensation he always felt around Jack, remembering what had happened with Bilis Manger and how he'd been manipulated…but the feeling was there, comfortable in the back of his head, just as it always had been.

But no…it was slightly different; a little sharper, a bit stronger. Ianto was so used to sensing Jack that any change in intensity was almost like a beacon.

What had happened?

Dizziness hit him, and it was only Jack – not Jack, and yet it was – holding onto him that kept him from falling. He felt the man tugging him forward, and Ianto went with him, not having much choice. The recovered alien technology had to have something to do with it, that much was obvious.

"God, Ianto," Jack was saying, "I think that beam made rocks teleport into your pockets of something."

Ianto's heart lurched. His Jack would have known that his human form was just a bit heavier than his actual appearance made him seem. Yes, his mate had often teased him about it, but there was an edge in this Jack's voice that made him feel it wasn't light-hearted ribbing; instead, it made him sound even more worried than he appeared.

Before he knew it, he was being seated in the back of what looked like the SUV, this Jack's hands on his hips to steady his slide onto the bench seat. Looking over the man's shoulder Ianto could see Toshiko examining what looked like the same box his own team had located.

But Toshiko had been back in the Hub, and Gwen had been with him and Jack.

Where was Gwen?

No, a better question was…where was he? Was this some sort of dream…or somewhere else entirely? Without evidence, he couldn't make an educated guess as to what had actually occurred.

This different Jack was staring at him, looking even more worried than before. He placed his hands on Ianto's face…and he paled. "You're burning up!"

Yet another sign that he wasn't where he should be. Jack was well aware that Ianto's internal flame kept his human body a couple of degrees warmer than a normal person's. What was usual for him was fever-hot for an ephemeral.

Jack had often said he loved the fact that Ianto was warmer than an average human.

But this Jack had no clue about Ianto's true nature.

This Jack turned away, shouting for Owen. The last thing Ianto wanted was to have Owen examine him, because the medic would easily notice that he wasn't human. The dragon didn't know what was going on, but he also had first-hand knowledge of what could happen if he was discovered by someone unscrupulous.

He had no idea who these people were. Yes, they closely resembled the team he knew, but he wasn't their Ianto. How would they react when they discovered he'd somehow switched places with their lover and teammate? Would they help…or would they imprison him? Two thousand years of paranoia were hard to break. Was this more like what he knew of Torchwood Three…or like One, ready to take anything not-human into custody for study?

It was obvious that whoever Ianto Jones was in this place was Jack's lover. But would Jack accept that this Ianto – one that was obviously different from the one he knew – was there by accident and not because he wanted to be?

There were just too many variables.

And the first thing Ianto needed to do was to stave off any sort of physical by Owen. He'd pick up on the physiological differences in Ianto's physical make-up immediately.

"I am?" Ianto asked innocently. "I feel all right though."

"Let me be the judge of that, Tea Boy," Owen said, approaching. "You just got beamed by some weird alien shit and there's no telling what it'll do to you. Just because you're tougher than the average bear doesn't mean it won't have some sort of effect on you. For all we know, it could've been created to eradicate life forms like you."

That single statement gave Ianto two pieces of information, one of them fairly important. The first, being that this Owen still called their Ianto 'Tea Boy', when his had been calling Ianto 'Dragon Boy' for well over a year. And the second, that the Ianto that he'd seemingly replaced wasn't quite human, either.

That really still didn't answer the important questions he had, but he felt a bit more comfortable that, maybe, they wouldn't dissect him if they found out he wasn't human. It also meant he might have a better chance of them believing him if and when he was either found out, or decided he could trust them enough to confide in them.

Jack was still looking very worried, and Ianto knew he'd have to placate him and figure out a way to get out of a complete physical. It also took away a bit of the hope that this might turn out all right, because if this Jack was as protective as Ianto's own – and that seemed very likely – then he might be extremely upset to find his lover replaced by a dragon in human guise.

Owen rested his own hand against Ianto's forehead, making a 'tsk'ing' noise. "Nice fever there. I'd say…about thirty-eight, best guess. I'll do a full scan when we get back to the Hub, since you aren't obviously delirious or anything. Probably the device jacked up your body temp…no pun intended, Harkness."

Jack pouted, and Ianto chuckled despite the circumstances he found himself in. It might be another version of his mate, but nothing really changed.

"Sit here and let us finish up," Jack went on, stroking Ianto's cheek in a way that reminded him of how his mate would touch his snout when he was in dragon-form. Then he tugged Ianto forward slightly and lightly kissed his forehead. "We'll figure out what's going on when we get back to the Hub."

Jack moved back slightly, enough to look at Ianto with an expression mingling worry and love. He simply stood there, almost close enough to lean over and kiss him again, and this time the dragon knew it would be on the lips. Ianto wondered vaguely if it was cheating to kiss another version of his mate, and then decided that it would.

Turning away reluctantly, his hand gradually slipping away from where it had been resting on Ianto's cheek, Jack joined Toshiko in helping with the strange device. Owen gave Ianto what could only have been the medic's version of the stink-eye then went to help.

Ianto sat and watched. It was like seeing his own team in action, minus Gwen. It would have been interesting if it wasn't for the fact that Ianto had to figure out a way to keep Owen away from him with any of his medical gadgets.

He couldn't be found out. Not until he'd had a chance to work out what to do, and where he was.


	17. Through the Looking Glass-Chapter Three

Through the Looking Glass - Chapter Three (TARDIS Ianto)

Authors: Cyberdigi and Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: We don't own anything here.

Author's note: Welcome back! We hope you've been enjoying so far. This chapter was written by Cyberdigi, and takes place in the Dragon-verse...without the dragon actually being there, of course. Once again, this is a crossover with Cyberdigi's series, The Blue Child.

* * *

As Ianto was engulfed and blinded by the all-encompassing light, the world and time spun around him, and he felt himself move, while remaining stationary.

As the light dissipated and Ianto could see the surrounding area, he knew immediately that something was _different_.

The first thing he noticed was that Jack was in a different position, which could be explained by his lover moving while he couldn't see; however, Jack also had different clothes on. In addition, Tosh and Owen appeared to be nowhere in sight.

Furthermore, Jack was...something else. For around 86 years he had had a feeling of Jack in his head—his location, his mood to an extent. When he looked at Jack now there was the slight buzz on his senses that came from Jack being a fixed point, but otherwise…nothing.

Not to mention the buzz was also a bit different, almost like it was at a slightly different pitch to his senses, like the difference between a C and C sharp to human ears.

As he was taking in everything, Jack's raised voice caught his attention.

"How many times do we have to go over this? We DO NOT press buttons!"

This was the most telling thing, _Gwen Cooper _was standing there, like she belonged, wide-eyed and being yelled at by Jack. Which was more than impossible because not only was she not there, Jack would do everything to keep her away.

Something was _not _right.

He closed his eyes and did what came as second nature, but with some difficulty: he looked through time.

He saw it all.

Jack, alone for so long.

Owen, still in many ways a jagged, broken man.

Tosh, taking a very different lover.

Gwen Cooper, first hearing of Torchwood during the glove incident.

Gwen, a member of Torchwood.

He looked further; had time changed?

No, the time was always as it was; _this _time was as it always was.

He had somehow slipped through the veil into another dimension.

"Are you alright?"

While he was distracted, Jack had finished yelling at Gwen and had come up beside him, placing a gentle, firm hand on his arm.

"I…I'm fine…just…just knocked me for a bit of loop," he told this version of his lover.

Even if it wasn't his _actual _timeline, he still couldn't see much about this universe's version of himself, and obviously there was one. Jack and even Gwen were acting as if he should be there.

And it was obvious, both from this Jack's actions and from what he could see of Jack's timeline, that this Jack and Ianto were intimate much like he and his partner.

Damn it, if he could only see some of this Ianto's timeline at this point. He didn't know if this was a human version of himself, human with abilities, alien, or mystical creature. All he could assume was that it was very likely this version was _not_half-TARDIS. He also sadly couldn't see—perhaps lacking the time or ability right now—the purpose of this Torchwood. If they discovered his true nature, would they try to use him against the Doctor? He couldn't be sure or risk that; he needed time to figure out what this Torchwood really was.

"Gwen, get the tech contained!" Jack yelled, having at least somewhat satisfied himself that Ianto seemed alright.

Jack reached up to this comm.

"Owen, be ready to give Ianto a full exam, the tech was activated and he was caught up in it."

Ianto could not hear his response; it would seem that the comms were on different frequencies, but he was sure Owen's response was an affirmative from Jack's expression.

"No, no, it's really not necessary, Jack; I'm fine, really."

Jack spared him a look that plainly said he didn't believe him.

"Why don't we let Owen decide that," Jack replied, clearly indicating there was no room for debate.

This was not good; his body may be mostly human, but there were some differences, differences he was sure his counterpart from this universe did not share, and his perception filter could only do so much in the face of the tech Owen had at his disposal.

"Come on, let's get you back," Jack said quietly, gently guiding him to the SUV.

As he was deposited in the SUV he pondered what had happened. The veil was supposed to be closed. How could it be possible to slip into another dimension with an alternate timeline?

The tech was the only answer.

Now the question was—what to do?


	18. Through the Looking Glass - Chapter Four

Through the Looking Glass - Chapter Four (Dragon Ianto)

Authors: Milady Dragon and Cyberdigi

Disclaimer: We don't own this, sorry.

Author's Note: Sorry about the delay! Real life and all that crap...hope the wait was worth it!

* * *

**_28 June 2008_**

Ianto didn't say much as the SUV headed toward the Hub.

Really, there wasn't much _to_ say.

He watched out of the window as Jack drove in his usual bat-out-of-hell way – some things certainly didn't change – and while some of the sights were the same, others were different. His and Jack's favorite roosts seemed to all be what he remembered, while it was the businesses that were just a little off. It was enough to reinforce the fact that he wasn't in his universe any longer.

He needed to have more information. Ianto didn't know how these counterparts to his teammates would react to know that their Ianto had been replaced, and until he knew more he didn't want to risk giving himself away. The only problem being was that Owen would be dead-set on checking him out physically after what had happened with the alien device; it was Torchwood protocol, after all. The medic wouldn't help but notice the physical differences in himself as compared to other humans, his body temperature only one of them, and then the game would be up.

Ianto didn't really want to end up on the opposite end of several weapons, even if bullets didn't really do that much damage. Being shot _hurt_.

Ianto could feel Jack's eyes on him every once in a while, and the dragon finally sighed and said, "Eyes on the road, Harkness," putting as much playfulness as he could into his voice, hoping he could somehow deflect Jack's scrutiny.

There was a puzzled look in Jack's eyes, which had Ianto wondering if he somehow hadn't just given the game away. But Jack simply pouted in response. "But how can I concentrate on the road when I have such gorgeousness sitting next to me?"

"It's not like you two haven't been together forever," Owen snarked from the back seat.

"They've been in the honeymoon phase for decades," Toshiko teased.

_Decades_?

"Doesn't mean we have to be witnesses!"

"I think it's sweet."

"Toshiko's a romantic at heart," Jack said. "Sometimes I'm surprised you two even got together."

"They do say opposites attract," Toshiko answered, laughing.

And with that, Ianto picked up two very important pieces of information: the first, that this universe's Ianto and Jack had been mates for a very long time, and it made Ianto wonder just how that was possible…unless this Ianto was also inhuman, which made sense from what Owen had said earlier. An alien, perhaps? Or some other sort of being? He could only say that his doppelganger wasn't a dragon, since his supposed fever wouldn't have fazed Jack if he had been.

And the second was that there, Toshiko and Owen were a couple. He wondered just where Kathy Swanson was, and what had happened to Diane Holmes…

It shocked him a bit about Owen and Toshiko. His version of Tosh had once had a crush on the acerbic medic, but that had faded during that time with the mind-reading pendant, when she'd realized just how Owen felt about her. Then Kathy had come along…and that had been that. To be honest, Ianto just couldn't see the technician and the medic in that sort of relationship. Friends, yes…lovers, no.

He was pulled from his thoughts by Jack swinging into the car park, practically whipping the SUV into its parking space. Ianto's heart began thumping a bit harder; this was it…this was the point where he would either have to confess that he wasn't this universe's Ianto Jones, or to let things run their course and allow Owen to perform his scans, which he wasn't looking forward to at all. If only he had more information!

Jack was out of the vehicle almost before it had stopped moving, and Toshiko and Owen followed. Ianto unsnapped his seatbelt, and didn't even have a chance to get his hand on the door handle before it was being pulled open, and Jack was looking at him closely. "You feeling better?" he asked softly, resting his hand on Ianto's forehead.

"I'm fine, Jack," the dragon answered. For the first time ever he wished there was some way to smother his inner flame just enough to stop seeming like he had a fever.

"You're still really hot," Jack murmured. "We'll get you checked –"

Jack was interrupted by a sudden crash from the rear of the SUV, and the sound of Owen cursing. Toshiko spoke as well, and it sounded like she was teasing him.

Jack rolled his eyes and then headed in the direction of the chaos, leaving Ianto alone. "Stay there," he called back over his shoulder.

Like Ianto was going to do that. This was his opportunity to do some checking before deciding what path he would need to take.

He was out of the SUV like a shot, and it was sheer luck that the door going into the Hub didn't have the security on it that he was used to; it opened easily, and Ianto dodged through to the sound of Jack berating Owen for dropping the containment box, and Owen's sarcastic response.

The layout of the tunnels seemed to be the same, so Ianto headed directly for the Archives, needing to see if he could find out more about the world he'd ended up on. Then he could make an educated decision on what to say to his mate's doppelganger, one that wouldn't get him hurt or imprisoned, or both.

The one good thing was that this Jack didn't know how to kill him. It wasn't something he'd thought he'd ever consider, and Ianto shuddered at the thought. He'd only ever shown his Jack his one vulnerable spot, just in case, but the very idea that it would ever be used disturbed him.

At least his desk was in the same spot. Ianto eyed the computer on the desk, and then disregarded it, knowing that his counterpart would most likely have different passwords. If the mainframe was anything like his own, the moment he put in an incorrect password Toshiko's terminal would know it, and that would certainly give him away before he was ready. He couldn't take the risk.

So he decided that searching the desk would be the best thing to do. The dragon simply wanted to know more about where he was, and about this team he'd ended up with.

He didn't find much within the desk, mostly office supplies – although there seemed to be quite a few post-its, and he had to wonder just what his other self had a use for them all – until he reached the lowermost drawer, where he found a set of journals.

He smiled. How convenient that his double had kept something like that…

Ianto pulled the oldest one out, sat down in the chair and, flipping it open to the first page, he began to read.


	19. Through the Looking Glass - Chapter Five

Through the Looking Glass - Chapter Five (TARDIS Ianto)

Authors: Cyberdigi and Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: We don't own it, sorry.

Author's note: Since it's been ages since there was an update, I thought we'd give you a second chapter today. Enjoy!

* * *

As they pulled up into the parking garage in the Hub, Ianto was no closer to an explanation of how he had slipped through the veil.

"Oi, Harkness! Took you long enough; let's get Dragon Boy looked at."

Dragon Boy? Could that be a clue to his counterpart's nature? But...a dragon? Regardless, it seemed he was out of time. He had to put off this exam as long as possible.

As he exited the SUV he closed his eyes and concentrated, 'ignore me, ignore me, there are other things to take care of.'

He kept up this focus in applying his perception filter as he quietly slipped away and headed into the depths of the Hub.

The Archives would give him the information he needed to know if he was safe among these familiar strangers. And he could also look up more information on Gwen.

He didn't have a lot of time; he had no doubt that Owen and Jack would overcome his perception filter suggestion.

On his way to the Archives he saw the room where the cyberwoman had been; a soft glow that reminded him of a nightlight was visible.

He detoured. Sure, he was wasting precious moments, but he felt he'd find some answers there.

He stepped into what could only be described as a hoard. He closed his eyes and was immersed in history; some of the items here were a millennia old, and he could lose himself in their stories.

As he pulled himself back from the swirling history around him he found himself drawn to four hand-carved totems.

He extended both himself and a hand to the closest one, and behind his closed eyes he could see the story they wanted to tell.

He could see a dragon, presumably female, standing before a collection of other dragons, with another beside her. It looked very much like a wedding, or what he would call a wedding, at least.

He felt an energy swirling around him in the ceremony—what some would call magic, what others would say is just science not explained.

Suddenly, the female—the name Sabrina came to his mind—looked over at another dragon.

Suddenly he found himself shifting to her perspective and he could feel her affection for this other dragon, brother, fill his mind.

But the longer he looked at this dragon through her eyes, her long-dead eyes—yes, time and humanity had nearly eradicated this majestic species—the more he felt _he_should recognize this dragon.

Then it came to him.

_Dragon Boy_.

This dragon was _him_, or rather this world's version of himself. And now that he knew this, he felt him separate a bit from this Ianto's timeline and he could actually see the timeline that had eluded him earlier—well, at least more of it.

As he felt himself withdraw from the totem and step out of the room he could only think the universe could not have chosen two more different Ianto's to switch.

But as he entered the Archives, he reconsidered.

Yes, physically they were very different, but could he really say how it counted they were different?

Only time would tell.

Finally, he found the files he needed; the charter was of utmost importance.

* * *

"Hey, where'd Dragon Boy go?"

"Huh?" Jack exclaimed, spinning around to look for his mate. "He was just here. Tosh, did you see where he went?"

"No, I can't say I've seen him since you left."

"Oh, I'm sure he's fine, it's not like he's human."

"I believe _we_have a conversation about buttons to finish, Gwen. If you can't be helpful finding Ianto, go wait in my office," Jack replied with an icy glare.

Gwen pouted before marching to Jack's office.

"Jack, I just did an internal scan and he seems to be in the Archives," Tosh notified him.

"You go collect Dragon Boy and I'll start by looking at what the sensors could pick up when he entered the Hub," Owen said with a wave of his hand.

Jack grinned as he went to collect his Dragon.

* * *

Ianto flipped through the charter and recent reports.

The first thing he realized, much to his relief, was that this Torchwood Three was operating under a similar charter to his, so he did not have to worry about any harm coming to this universe's version of his Mother and the Doctor.

Next he perused the personnel files, to confirm his earlier observations.

Tosh and Owen, while not together, were actually very similar to his own; they just took longer to find their personal balances.

Gwen, his other major concern, also seemed to be a bit of troublemaker in this universe. Actually, with the exception of that she did not seem to posses any precognitive abilities, she seemed pretty much the same. It would also seem this Gwen shared an obsession for his partner's counterpart as well. This Gwen, while a nuisance, was relatively harmless.

Jack was, and would always be, Jack. For the most part, that is: this Jack was indeed alone much longer than his partner; it would seem his counterpart joined Torchwood after Alex's massacre and they didn't really come together until a few months ago. Linear months, at least—there was no documentation so he couldn't be sure, but given the roughness he felt when he looked at the spot the paradox occurred, he'd hazard a guess that that awful year happened for this universe, too.

He and his Jack had been together for longer than many humans were alive at this point; his counterpart might be considerably older than he was, but their relationships were in completely different places.

He could not imagine a time when he did not trust Jack; yes, he was cocky and full of himself, but he could never doubt him.

But then again, he remembered when he and Jack had only been together for a few decades. They hadn't even admitted the full extent of their feelings for over 20 years, both too scared of what the other would say, and then alone once more.

Still, his dragon counterpart and his Jack were in a relatively new relationship when compared to his own; he wondered if there'd be any differences because of this.

So lost was he in his thoughts that he was startled when Jack came up behind him, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Weren't we going to do an exam after the mysterious light from Gwen pressing buttons?" Jack asked with smirk and a hard glint in his eye.

"Oh…uhh…I thought I'd check the Archives for any information on a similar device. Just to make sure we didn't have any information already."

The lie was weak to his own ears; and why was he lying, anyway? He knew this Torchwood would not harm him or use him to harm the Doctor.

He didn't know how to tell this Jack that he was not the same Ianto, was why. For the first time in his life he could truly see the reason why telling the truth from the start was always recommended: because it's hard to admit the truth afterward.

"What, the mighty dragon can't remember what's in his hoard?" Jack asked as he laughed.

Well, if he wasn't sure before, there was no doubt now; this Jack knew of his Ianto's nature.

"And why couldn't you just check the digital Archives from the Hub?" Jack asked after he had caught his breath.

His Mam always did say that when you had made a mistake you should just admit it, this was as good an opening as any.

"Actually…"

As he was about to tell this Jack the truth, Jack raised his hand to tell him to wait as he activated his comm.

"What's up, Owen?"

Jack turned away as he continued, apparently answering the doctor.

"Okay, we'll be right up, everything ready?"

After disconnecting the comm Jack turned to him with a smile. It didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Well, seems we have an impatient doctor waiting for you upstairs."

Before Ianto could say anything, Jack was ushering him upstairs.


	20. Through the Looking Glass - Chapter Six

**__**Through the Looking Glass - Chapter Six (Dragon Ianto)

Authors: Milady Dragon and Cyberdigi

Disclaimer: Not ours, darn it.

Author's note: Here is the next chapter. Hope you like it. And thanks for everyone reading!

* * *

**_28 June 2008_**

The handwriting was obviously his own, and Ianto had no problem interpreting it…although he wished he had, because that first date just couldn't be right, if what the first paragraph was implying.

**_December 1920_**

_Well, this is certainly different. After making due with random loose pieces of paper for 15 years, I finally have an actual journal, thanks to Jack._

_Mam always said, when you're head's too full, write it down, and Mother also thought it would help. It always helped me when I felt like I was separated from my peers and family by leagues._

_But now, I've come to a new chapter in my life. In the six months since I've found Jack, we've become lovers, and I'm settling into Cardiff as well. I've decided to keep out of Torchwood's sight as long as possible, but it's pretty definite I'll find my way into their clutches, much like Jack has…_

_Torchwood has so far to go and to grow…but…but I think Jack and I, no matter what, will take care of each other. Yes, that seems right. Yes, that's definitely right, with all the uncertain possibilities…yes, that is definite._

_The more time I spend with Jack, the more I feel myself drawn to him, and I feel my heart swell. In this day and age it's not the safest relationship, but we both know the attitudes will change as the decades pass. _

_Well, I suppose that's enough for now. Until next time._

Ianto leaned back in his chair, chewing his lip thoughtfully. So, it looked as if this Jack and Ianto had been together for considerably longer than he and his Jack had been. He didn't think this Ianto was a dragon, judging from the tone of the words, but there really was nothing to indicate what exactly he was.

He wondered just who this Ianto's 'Mother' was. He felt a bit jealous that he should have his mother still while Ianto's own had been dead for so long, but he tamped down on it. He should be happy for the other him.

He idly flipped through the other entries. Most were just normal ramblings, and he skimmed the hand-written pages, hoping to find something else that would give him any more clues.

**_March 1924_**

_I realized today that I bonded to Jack. I can't decide it he would care or if he'd run…_

_I know he cares for me, when we are together, which admittedly is more often than not. I can see it, feel it with every fiber of my being. But every so often his eyes become distant, and I feel him pull away emotionally even though he holds me tighter, and making a comment about maybe taking a break or saying how hot someone is._

_And I can't decide…can't _SEE _if it's because he doesn't want anything permanent or if it's because he's scared…scared I'll leave him, too, just like everyone else has._

_I don't know what to do, but leaving him isn't an option, not for me at least, and I only hope not for him, too._

Ianto couldn't help but sigh at this. It looked as if the other Ianto had mated with this Jack in some way. It was almost a mirror of his own early relationship with his mate, with all the uncertainty and fear that he'd felt. He hoped it had worked out, like it had eventually for his Jack and himself.

At least he and this stranger had this in common. It made him wonder if every Jack in every dimension had some sort of commitment issue.

He finished that journal, and then picked up the second. It was much the same as the first, although one entry caught his eye:

**_October 1945_**

_After over 20 years we finally talked…yes, it was very overdue, but we were both scared. _

_But in the end we've finally both gotten what we want…each other._

The dragon snorted. Well, at least it had only taken him and his Jack seven years to work things out. He felt a bit proud of that, actually.

There were other entries, one about the other Ianto finally joining Torchwood. It mentioned them not knowing his true nature, which there really hadn't been much of a clue of what that was so far in any of the entries. But then, he shouldn't expect much; after all, his doppelganger _knew_ what he was; he wasn't likely to write it down, not if he wanted to keep it hidden.

He kept reading. Things seemed to follow the same timeline as his and Jack's life once he got to Alex killing the entire team, although the comment about Alex being deceived that he was in charge was telling. It looked as if these two hadn't had the issues with One that he and his Jack had, which in a way was good; Ianto remembered vividly the times that Yvonne Hartman had tried to wrest control of Three away from them, and even though she'd never succeeded it had been a paranoid time for both of them.

It was in the last journal that Ianto finally found an entry that seemed to spell out much of the mystery that was his double's life.

**_8 June 2008 _**

_We have just lived through a year that never happened. The Master, the only remaining Time Lord, had very nearly destroyed the world._

_My mind is spinning, with the shifts in time, the paradox; I almost can't tell if I'm coming or going._

_Maybe I should just write it all out._

_Jack found the Doctor, or rather the Doctor stopped for a refuel and then ran when he saw Jack coming. He should have known Jack wouldn't let him get away._

_I knew the Doctor would likely hurt Jack when he found him, but that doesn't mean I'm still not happy with him about it._

_But at the end of everything was where they ended up with their reaction to Jack; they found the Master. Oh, he had used a chameleon arch but it was him and he did regain his Time Lord self, along with his insanity._

_He stole Mother, and _GUTTED _her to make a paradox machine. It hurt her so much; I can't even begin to describe it._

Ianto had to break off at that point, because the connections were coming fast and furious now. It was obvious now just what this version of Ianto Jones was: the son of the Doctor's TARDIS. It was a stunning development, and one he was having trouble wrapping his mind around. The dragon hadn't known what to expect, but this hadn't even crossed his mind.

Of course he knew about the TARDIS, and what she was. He considered just how a sentient time machine could have a child, and his mind refused to come up with anything. He also doubted he'd be getting any answers from these journals, either.

He turned back to the journal's contents, needing to read more.

_Mother felt horrible that she'd run from Jack but at that point in her timeline she didn't realize what she…she and Rose…had done to him, and she wasn't ready for what he was to her senses._

This was different from what Jack had told him; his mate had explained that the TARDIS had managed to let him know that everything that was supposed to happen would, and that Jack had needed to be there. The Doctor's ship hadn't run, _per_ _se_, but she'd taken him just the same, knowing that awakening the Master needed to happen in order to ensure the timelines. It didn't make the Doctor's actions any easier to deal with, but at least Ianto knew that Jack's suffering was for some sort of reason.

That didn't mean he had to like it, though.

_After that year though she had grown used to him again, and was even more grateful that "her" Jack had destroyed the paradox._

_And, with the destruction of the paradox, that year had never existed and most of the planet doesn't remember, and the Master is dead, never to harm anyone again._

_But Jack, my wonderful over and partner, suffered so much for the Doctor. I am infuriated._

_My lover was hurt by that madman, my Mother was hurt, and the Doctor wanted to save him and keep him on the TARDIS! My Mother, whom again he hurt. I…I cannot put into words how angry I am with him at this moment._

_I understand he feels alone, but _DAMNIT, _if he'd only open his eyes he'd realize he's not and that he hadn't been for a very long time._

_I want to stay angry with him until the end of his days, but I can't do that. He means too much to the two people I love the most, and if I'm honest I care about him in that abstract 'distant relative you've always hear d about' way…I'm sure once we meet officially I might even start to care about him like Mother and Jack do, but that's not today, and I have every right to be angry with the Time Lord, relative or not, and this version of him is a right dick._

_…I'll probably like the next one, actually._

Ianto felt a stab of guilt at having read such personal ramblings, but it put things in perspective for him. It seemed like that Ianto and himself had more in common than he'd thought; he couldn't blame the other for being so mad at the Doctor, not when he would carry his anger for centuries toward the Time Lord and his cavalier attitude where Jack was concerned.

He sighed, rubbing his eyes, and then began flipping through the remaining entries. It looked as if their times were fairly well synched, which was a good thing. He wouldn't have to work out the date that way…

The dragon was so engrossed in what he was reading that he completely missed the telltale scratching in is head that usually announced Jack's arrival, and didn't realize he was no longer alone until a pair of arms wrapped themselves around his shoulders from behind. "Catching up on some memories?" Jack asked softly, his breath tickling Ianto's ear.

Ianto let his silence answer that question, as he closed the journal. Apparently it wasn't unusual for him to take trips down memory lane.

"And what happened with you letting Owen check you out?" Jack went on.

"Owen is a bloody witch doctor and I wasn't in the mood to have him shake his rattles and beads at me," the dragon snarked. He was well aware of just how this Jack felt like his own, and yet it was foremost in his mind that this wasn't his mate, that he'd somehow been separated from his Jack by some sort of alien tech.

Jack's quiet laughter huffed in his ear. "I'd still feel better if he checked you out. This fever just isn't normal."

Ianto sighed. This was decision time; he had to either trust this team not to throw him in a cell and help him, or he had to let them be blindsided when Owen's tests came back.

There was only one decision he could make in this circumstance.

He carefully pulled himself out of Jack's embrace, then stood up and faced the captain. "There's something you should know…"


	21. Through the Looking Glass-Chapter Seven

Through the Looking Glass - Chapter Seven (TARDIS Ianto)

Author: Cyberdigi and Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: We'd don't own anything. Which stinks)

Author's Note: Here we are, the next chapter. Thanks to everyone reading and commenting, we both appreciate it. *grins*

Now, on with the story...

* * *

Ianto journeyed upward through the corridors to the Hub, his partner's counterpart close behind.

He really wanted to kick himself.

"Jack, I really do need to tell you something."

"I'm sure you do, but it'll have to wait." Jack's voice had something, a hard edge almost.

He had a very bad feeling about this.

As they entered the bright lights of the Hub he found himself staring down three guns, and he was sure that behind him Jack had pulled out a gun as well. He raised his hands, holding them apart and making sure they were easily visible by all parties.

"Who are you and what have you done with our Ianto?" Toshiko asked.

He could just hear his lover lecturing him on sharing things sooner…again.

"I haven't done anything with him," he said, keeping his voice as steady as possible.

"Then where is he?" Jack asked from behind. In his mind Ianto could see him, eyes narrowed, gun aimed. Basically, a pissed-off Jack.

"I would presume, hope, he is where I'm supposed to be, with my team. I _am_ Ianto Jones, just not _your _Ianto."

"That's bloody obvious from the internal scans," Owen said acidly.

At least some things never changed.

"This is what I get for not looking better," he mumbled under his breath.

As he heard the Captain's gun behind him he rushed to finish.

"I mean no harm. I presume the tech caused this. My team was retrieving a box identical to yours; we were treating it as highly dangerous and I was visually examining it from a close distance when it emitted a light; then I found myself where I was, and yet not."

"And you expect us to believe that?" Gwen asked haughtily.

Ianto could only blink at her; was she that narrow-minded that she couldn't even entertain the possibility? This was Torchwood, for god's sake. Even if they had him under suspicion until it was confirmed, to not even imagine that it might be possible...

Thank god he didn't have one on his team, otherwise they'd never get anything done.

Instead of answering her, he directed his answer to the rest of the team.

"Yes. This is Torchwood, after all. It's not like there's regularly time-traveling persons and debris, aliens in the sewers, a last-of-his-kind alien traveling all over time and the universe just randomly saving things, and a man that can't stay dead leading a top secret organization that everyone in Cardiff knows about."

Okay, maybe the sarcasm was for her.

"Owen, I want a full medical scan. I want to know exactly what he is, and when you're done we're going to be asking him some serious questions," Jack barked.

"I'm aware I'm viewed as a potential hostile right now and I expect you to fully investigate and interrogate me-you're too good of a leader not to, especially since I did not inform you earlier- however, as I would like to be able to go home as soon as possible, I hope that you're not going to forget to investigate that tech as well?"

Ianto grimaced a little inside; he knew that would make the Captain mad, but he didn't want them so focused on him that they wasted valuable time ignoring the tech.

"We're already going to do that, don't you worry."

Yup. Very annoyed and likely worried.

Owen lowered his weapon as Jack pulled his hands down, handcuffing him, fortunately with his hands in front.

"Somehow this isn't as enjoyable as the last time a Jack Harkness handcuffed me, not to mentioned the handcuffs were fur-lined."

Sometimes it was a case of make-a-joke-or-cry, and he really didn't want to cry in front of these people.

But from Owen's snort he could tell he had at least amused the medic, while everyone else didn't know quite what to do with the comment.

Jack tossed Owen the handcuff key and Owen grabbed Ianto's arm to guide him down to autopsy.

As Owen led him away, he turned to the Captain.

"By the way, Captain, as for what I am, you could ask, you know. I have never lied to a Jack Harkness and I don't intend to start now. Withheld information from, yes; but lied to, no."

"I don't know you, so how do I know you're being honest now? You could just be saying what you think I want to hear."

Looking into the other man's eyes, Ianto knew that this was the truth, it was what Jack wanted to hear, but he was too good a leader to do that.

"I believe, Captain, that's why it's called trust."

"And if you know your Jack half as well as you _say _you do, then you know I have a perfectly good reason to be paranoid. Especially when it has something to do with the disappearance of my mate."

Jack was half-growling at the end.

"And I have been ripped from my partner, just like you have been ripped from your mate. But if you're anything like the Jack I know-and I know you are-you have lived by your wits and instincts for far longer than any person lives. So maybe you should listen to your instincts; trust them if you can't trust me."

Jack looked slightly taken aback by that, and seemed to consider it.

"You can't trust him, Jack!" Gwen cried.

Of course _she _would be the one to ruin what little trust he had seemingly established, Ianto thought bitterly.

"We'll get the exam done, and get some answers. Depending on what he says, we'll decide then," Jack said, but at least he sounded slightly less hostile.

Ianto turned to Owen. "After you, Doctor," he said.

"Actually, I believe I should follow _you_."

* * *

"So…any medical conditions I need to know about?" Owen asked, pen and clipboard in hand.

Ianto was a bit surprised; he had not expected the doctor to actually talk to him.

"None, terrestrial or extraterrestrial."

Owen looked up.

"Any sarcastic nicknames your Owen uses? You know, just to make you feel a bit at home."

Ianto chuckled before he answered.

"You're assuming I have a version of yourself."

"Well of course you do, everyone knows I make this operation work with my extreme awesomeness."

Ianto smiled, it was so typical Owen.

"A remark about coffee being served, or being a Tea Boy would do, actually."

"You make coffee too? How much do I have to beg for a caffeine fix?"

Owen looked like he just might beg, too.

"Well, considering Jack is unlikely to unlock these," he said, holding up the handcuffs, "anytime soon, you might just have to make do."

Owen replied with a serious stare.

"Look, Jack's just concerned about our Ianto. They've been through hell and back, and are just getting themselves sorted. He'll let you out of those as soon as he's sure you're not a threat."

Ianto looked down sadly. In some ways he had gotten himself into this mess, and he understood this team was worried, but to see the people he cared about have looks of such suspicion, especially Jack, hurt deeply.

"I know, and I understand. I've been with Torchwood far longer than your Ianto, and this _is _partially my fault; I should have said something as soon as I had assessed the situation. Of course, this is assuming that you believe me."

Owen shrugged as he said, "Seen a lot of weird shit in this job. You're here…our Ianto is somewhere else. Stands to reason you switched places. And Jack will do anything to get Dragon Boy back."

"Of that I have no doubt; Jack Harkness, no matter the reality, is nothing if not consistent. I'm just not sure how easy the solution is, I don't even know HOW this was possible to begin with, because it shouldn't have been."

It was true, it was part of what made him Jack; despite what difference there might be from different pasts, it was part of what defined him.

"That's why we have a technical genius…Tosh'll work it out. It might just take a bit, but she will."

"I'm sure my Tosh will manage it as well. It's the "bit" part that concerns me. I'd offer to help, but…"

Ianto trailed off as he raised his handcuffed hands again.

"Harkness might go for it, once I give you a clean bill of health…which is looking more and more likely."

Ianto quietly laughed again.

"I believe I can count on one, maybe two hands the number of times I've been sick in my life."

"Yeah, well, what might not make you sick might kill us. There's no telling what that tech did when it sucked you here. Best be safe than sorry, since I'd hate to have Dragon Boy come back and have to clean up after a biological apocalypse."

Ianto laughed outright this time, it was reassuring that this Owen was making the effort, and that he was so like his own doctor.

"Very true; however, I do believe that's not what Jack asked you to do."

"Nope. He asked me to make a risk assessment based on your physical abilities. Which I am doing. And, I'll be honest, I don't think you're much of a threat."

"I believe he wanted to know 'what I was,' although I appreciate the vote of confidence."

"Well, duh…but since it's obvious you're just another version of Ianto Jones, I finished that assessment up within the first two minutes you were on the table. 'Sides, I have all the scans we took when you came into the Hub, and that pretty much told me everything I needed to know. Jack's just being a pain in the arse. I'm more concerned with you bringing anything along for the ride when you showed up."

Ianto laughed again at the doctor's assessment of his leader; it was just what he'd expect from Owen and Jack, honestly.

"Thank goodness some things never change. Thank you, Owen, a biological contamination didn't occur to me; between the two universe there should be minimal biological differences, but you're right, this is unknown tech."

He couldn't believe he had missed that possibility, he had been so busy determining the difference and similarities between the two realities he had not thought that tech might have deposited a contaminant on him.

Owen waved him off.

"Yeah, well someone has to keep his head around here. Between Harkness pining, Tosh worrying, and Gwen being a bitch, we need one professional in this place."

"Oh, good, I was afraid I was the only one with that assessment of your Gwen. How do you get anything done?"

"Oh, she can work alright, when she isn't thinking everything is about her. She'd be halfway decent if she'd just follow Jack's orders instead of arguing with him over everything. I can see why Jack hired her, but I don't think he expected it to come back and bite him in the arse like it has."

"She's quite different than the Gwen Cooper I know."

"Good or bad?"

"OWEN!" Jack bellowed, interrupting their conversation.

Ianto looked at the doctor.

"His majesty calls. But would you believe me if I said your Gwen is better?"

Owen shrugged as he said, "Big surprise there. Be back as soon as I give Jack the news. Relax and enjoy the quiet. I'm sure he'll be calling for you soon enough."

Ianto slouched; he really didn't want to lie down, but everything was weighing on him.

It looked like he had a good chance of gaining this team's trust, which was a step in the right direction. But he was still far from home, and what he told Owen was true: if this took an extended time, he wasn't sure of any long-term effects. Not to mention what could happen if the Doctor showed up.

He missed his partner and team so much. Being without Jack's warm presence after so long was like stepping out into a snowstorm without a coat.

And he was getting hungry…maybe he could at least convince the team to give him a sandwich.


	22. Through the Looking Glass-Chapter Eight

Through the Looking Glass - Chapter Eight (Dragon Ianto)

Authors: Milady Dragon and Cyberdigi

Disclaimer: We don't own what you see her.

Author's note: Hello, all! Welcome to the next chapter. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

**_28 June 2008_**

Jack was looking at him, and Ianto knew he had to get this right, to get this version of Jack to believe him. He didn't want to find himself on the wrong end of Jack's Webley, even if the bullets wouldn't hurt him all that much they'd still sting a bit, and he hated getting blood out of his suits.

He needed to get this team on his side. Ianto wanted nothing more than to go home, and this Torchwood was his only chance. They had to trust him.

"What is it?" Jack asked, looking concerned. He stood there, staring at Ianto, his hands in his pockets.

The dragon took a deep breath. "I know it's going to be hard to accept, but I'm not your Ianto. When that piece of tech was activated, it switched me with your version. I'm pretty certain your Ianto is with my team, back in my version of Cardiff."

Jack's eyes narrowed. "I really do think we need to let Owen get some scans. I'm really worried about that fever you have."

Well, that wasn't exactly how Ianto thought it would go, but at least he wasn't being thrown in a cell.

He chewed on his lip thoughtfully. Well, if Jack was going to think it was because he was ill, there was only one thing for it.

"Come with me," Ianto said, reaching across and tugging on Jack's sleeve.

"Good, Owen's waiting for you in the medical bay –"

Ianto let him think that was where they were going, but he knew exactly what he needed to do to prove himself, and where he could do it.

Of course, he had no idea what was in the room in this reality where his hoard was at his Hub, but he knew for a fact that it was a large enough space.

And, luckily for him, the door was unlocked.

"What the –" Jack demanded, as Ianto threw open the heavy metal door and stepped inside.

There wasn't anything within; the room looked as if it had been scrubbed clean and then abandoned. Ianto felt a strange sensation in his chest at the loss of his hoard; hoarding was a dragon instinct, and for a dragon not to have any sort of hoard was a certain sign of disgrace. Ianto himself had kept the majority of his hoard either at the Hub or at his house, with some in safe-keeping in Ddraig Llyn, and he'd used a bit to invest, making sure he had a bit of a nest egg for the future, not knowing how long he was going to stay with Torchwood.

Of course, now that he and Jack were mated in all but ceremony, the dragon knew he'd be with Torchwood as long as Jack was, which would most likely be a very long time indeed.

Ianto stepped into the centre of the room. "Now, I want you to keep an open mind," he requested. "And please, don't panic."

With those words, Ianto triggered his transformation.

To say that Jack looked surprised would have been an understatement.

Jack's eyes were wide, and he cautiously reached up a hand to touch the dragon's side. "Well," he said in awe, "if this is a joke, it's a really good one."

"I can promise you," the dragon rumbled, "it's no joke."

Shaking his head, Jack moved back. His comm. must have gone off, because he began talking to himself, "No, I think it's safe to say I know what it is, Toshiko. Why don't you and Owen get down here…like, about five minutes ago?"

Toshiko must have gotten some sort of sensor reading on him, and was reporting to Jack. The dragon was glad they had some sort of decent security around this version of the Hub, like they did in his own.

Jack began to pace, and the dragon left him at it. He knew that Jack was most likely trying to reconcile the Ianto that he knew, and the mythical creature that was currently curled up on the hard concrete floor of this room. The dragon watched, and waited for Jack to accept what he was seeing; but then, the immortal had always been very accepting of things, and he didn't think this Jack would lock him up for admitting the truth.

Footfalls sounded in the corridor outside, and Owen and Toshiko practically raced into the room, Owen sliding to a clumsy halt and Toshiko stopping in her tracks as they both got a look at their 'guest'. "Bloody hell!" Owen exclaimed.

"I knew the sensor readings were off…" Toshiko added.

"I do apologize for giving you all a shock," the dragon said. "But I thought it best that I be completely honest, now that I know this Torchwood won't do anything to me."

"You're an honest-to-shit dragon!" Owen gasped, his hands twitching, and if he was anything like the dragon's Owen, then he was itching for his medical scanners.

"I am the last of my kind," he answered. "There are no others like me anywhere." He deliberately didn't mention the Great Dragons; but then, they were spirits and not actual dragons really. "I met my version of Jack Harkness on the side of a mountain, while he was on the run from Yvonne Hartman after Alex Hopkins had murdered the entire Torchwood team. I have been by his side ever since." It hadn't been an easy time of it, but all that pain had paid off in the end.

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you when you said you were from another dimension," Jack said. Then he got that particular sparkle in his eye. "Although, you really are one sexy beast."

The dragon rolled his eyes. "Jack Harkness must be the same in every dimension."

"But you shouldn't be able to travel between dimensions," Jack went on. "The Doctor said the walls were closed after the Time War."

"I must be honest and say I don't trust the Doctor as far as I could throw him," the dragon snorted.

Jack looked pained. "That's not important at the moment," he said. "What is is getting you back to your Jack, and my Ianto back to me."

"Agreed." Ianto remembered what his doppelganger had said in his journal about the Year of the Toclafane, and he wasn't about to push his opinions on the trustworthiness of the Doctor. He triggered his change back, straightening his tie as he resumed human form.

"How do you do that?" Toshiko asked excitedly. "Where does the extra mass go when you change to human? And what about your clothes? You should shred right out of them when turn into a dragon –"

Ianto couldn't help but laugh. "My Tosh was about the same way when she found out. She ran scans on me during my transformations, but she could only come up with one answer."

"Which is?" She was practically bouncing.

The dragon grinned. "Magic."

Toshiko rolled her eyes. "Why did I think you were going to say that?"

"Because I'm a mythical creature?"

"Is magic an integral part of where you come from?" Jack asked.

Ianto frowned. "Not as much anymore. Human disbelief is slowly weakening what magic there is left, and most of the magical beings who'd once lived on Earth have either left, or have died out. Some day there might not be anything left at all…except for me, of course." He didn't mention Ddraig Llyn; he had no idea if such a place even existed there, so it was a moot point.

"I'm sorry," Toshiko said, resting a hand on his arm.

"It's fine," he answered. He winked at her. "Although that shouldn't stop you from trying your own scans. And I'm certain Owen has questions as well."

"Damn right I do," the medic said. "Down to the medical bay, Tea-Boy…does my other self even call you that?"

"He used to, but now he sticks with Dragon Boy."

"Dragon Boy it is, then. Let's get your physical over with. I also want to make sure you haven't tracked any sort of weird pathogens over from your universe."

That made sense. Ianto let himself be escorted up into the main Hub area, to let them poke and prod him. Knowing these three were like his own team made it easier to deal with it.

* * *

After all the tests were done, they met back in the boardroom, which seemed to be the same as the one in his Hub, which surprisingly made him feel more at home than he should have.

The moment he sat down, his stomach gurgled. "Well," Ianto said, "that was rather rude of me."

Jack laughed. "Just what do you eat? Do we need to bring in a sheep or something?"

"I have been known to eat the odd sheep," Ianto said dryly, "although the wool gets stuck between my teeth. I much prefer virgins."

Toshiko's eyes went wide, and then she snorted delicately. "Good thing there's no virgins sitting at this table, then."

"Judging from Jack's stories," Owen said, "he's loud and proud about that fact, too."

"Jealous, Owen?" Jack grinned.

"Not hardly. Now, I did scans on Dragon Boy here, and while his metabolism is higher than your average human's, he's perfectly able to ingest normal food."

"I quite like Chinese," Ianto volunteered. "And no, not Chinese virgins."

"Prejudiced against Chinese virgins?" Jack teased. "I wouldn't have thought that about you."

Toshiko sighed. "I can call out for lunch. I'm a bit hungry, too."

"Okay," Jack said, "you do that, and why don't you ask Rhys to pick it up?"

"Rhys Williams?" Ianto asked, surprised. One more thing that was different between the dimensions…apparently Rhys Williams knew about Torchwood.

"Yes," Jack answered. "His parents were Torchwood. My Ianto and I have known him forever."

"And what about Gwen Cooper?" Ianto asked, curious. He hadn't seen her around, but in his own dimension Rhys hadn't known about Torchwood at all. His parents hadn't been part of it at all. Just how different was Gwen here?

"Well, I'm guessing you mean the trouble-making nutter, right?" Owen asked acerbically.

Ianto's eyebrows went up. "She's not like that in my dimension. Opinionated and selfish, and yes, she does cause trouble…but not a 'nutter' as you say."

"Sounds like an improvement on ours."

"Gwen is…" Jack paused. "She's a bit…obsessed with me. The problem is, she's also somewhat precognizant…" Suddenly he started laughing. "Oh, of course! Last year Gwen had this vision of a green monster coming to get us."

"Bloody hell," Owen swore. "We've been on the alert, and it turns out the green monster is just another version of our Tea-Boy."

Toshiko was also laughing. "Well, to be fair there was no way she could have known that, Owen."

"We did think she could have misinterpreted it at the time," Jack pointed out.

"So she isn't in Torchwood then?" Ianto asked. He had the sudden wish that this was his universe, where his team didn't have Gwen Cooper on it. Then he shook his head, realizing that he couldn't get so lucky. Besides, Gwen was a fairly competent agent, and he couldn't quite see how four could handle the dangers of Torchwood when his team of five had a hard enough time of it.

"Not likely," Owen said. "We'd get rid of her if we could. She's always sticking her nose in where it doesn't belong."

"I think that's just Gwen Cooper, to be honest," Ianto laughed. He thought about his Gwen, and how she disliked anyone keeping secrets…although she kept some of the biggest secrets of all from her own fiancé. Of course, that was the burden of Torchwood…

"Why don't you call for lunch, Toshiko," Jack ordered, "then we can get working on that tech. I'm sure Ianto here wants to get home as much as we want our Ianto back."

"I do want to thank you all," Ianto replied. "I do really want to get back."

"We'll do it," Toshiko swore.

"I have confidence," the dragon smiled at her. He didn't mention the destiny that the Great Dragons had often spoken of, and Ianto had faith that he'd get back home based on that…and on this team, who if they were anything like his own, would do their best to make things right.


	23. Through the Looking Glass - Chapter Nine

Through the Looking Glass - Chapter Nine (TARDIS Ianto)

Authors: Cyberdigi and Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: We don't own this, and cannot claim a thing.

Author's Note: Hello, everyone! Here is the next chapter. Thanks to everyone reading and commenting and alerting, we both appreciate it.

* * *

As Owen took his customary seat he noticed that Ianto's typical seat was left open at the conference table.

"So, what is he?" Jack asked, his eyes hard, hiding the worry he knew his captain was feeling.

Also, he wasn't wasting any time.

"After examination, I've determined he poses no risk of any sort of contamination. He's perfectly healthy."

Jack's eyes narrowed.

"That's _not _what I asked you to do."

Owen sighed.

"You asked 'what he was,' and the answer to that is, honestly, I don't know what he is exactly. It's obvious he's just another version of Dragon Boy, but he's definitely not human, that much I know. I was more worried about if he was carrying contaminants."

Jack gave him a pointed look as he pulled out his notes.

"With the Hub's scans I was able to complete his biological assessment within two minutes of him on the table. If he were to walk into a hospital, no doctor would doubt he's human, at least from most standard tests. He does have an elevated heart rate, but I'd attribute that more to stress than a biological difference. It's when you get to his brain and his DNA you see the big differences. His brain uses waves that I've never seen and we don't have anything like it on record, and it doesn't seem to entirely operate how a human brain does. The Hub scanners also show him emitting low levels of chronon particles and artron energy, but for the life of me I couldn't guess why."

"You said something about his DNA?" Tosh asked.

"His DNA actually shows slightly less than half human, about 2.5 to 3 percent something else and the other 50 percent something similar to the first unknown but definitely different. Again, we don't have anything on record of anything remotely similar to either."

Jack nodded.

"Tosh, what about that tech?"

"It's going to take time, from initial analysis all it appears to be is a box with a button. I haven't been able to crack it open yet. It does seem to be giving off particles similar to chronons, but they are slightly different; I've plugged them into the Mainframe, but it hasn't finished the analysis yet."

"If it's similar to what's he's giving off, could he have been responsible for the tech?" Gwen asked.

"Could he be telling the truth?"

Tosh thought for a moment.

"I don't know, not yet."

Well, Owen _did _know.

"Look, I know I'm the cynic here, but I believe him."

Jack looked skeptical as he asked, "Okay, Mr. Cynic, _why _do you believe him?"

"_Look _at him," Owen said, motioning out the window, where Jack could see the doppelganger of his mate.

He was slumped like he had the weight of the world weighing on him.

"I've seen that look in his eyes before, that look of, 'this is not where I'm supposed to be, this is not where I _want _to be.' I talked to him and it's obvious this is not where he wants to be; well, actually, I think he wouldn't mind comparing the difference if he knew he could get home. He wants to help; he wants us to get our Dragon Boy back, and get himself home.

"Besides, he had ample opportunity to do harm and he didn't; he's just another version of our Ianto."

Jack looked thoughtful, weighing the doctor's words.

"He's some sort of unknown alien and you think we should take his word for it. It's bad enough we have a _dragon _on our team! It doesn't even sound possible."

"Gwen!" Jack reprimanded, as Owen and Tosh glared.

Owen shrugged.

"He seems to know quite a bit of stuff of this nature because he said it shouldn't have been possible; he even offered to help with figuring out the tech—if we let him, that is. Besides, as he said, this is Torchwood, we see plenty of strange stuff."

Jack laced his fingers in front of his face, contemplating.

"Let's see what he says before we decide anything. Owen, can you get him?"

Owen nodded and stood, on his way to collect the mirror version of their Ianto.

* * *

Ianto stepped into the conference room with Owen close behind him.

Owen guided him to an empty seat, however, as he was sitting his stomach growled…loudly.

At everyone's stares he blushed.

"I hate to ask at the moment, but is there any way I could have a sandwich, or at least some biscuits?"

"I think we can arrange something," Jack said as he nodded, eyes barely softening.

Turning to Gwen he said, "Can you arrange some lunch?"

Gwen puffed up.

"I really think I should be here in case things get ugly."

Jack cocked his eyebrow. "I think we can handle anything he might try."

"I can call in an order for takeout?" Tosh offered.

At Jack's nod she asked Ianto, "What would you like?"

"If you're ordering sandwiches, three club sandwiches, please, with a double order of chips, if you wouldn't mind."

Jack's eyes widened and his eyebrows shot up towards his hair line as he said, "That's a lot of food."

"I'm hungry. Mam always said a growing boy could eat a family out of house and home, and she couldn't figure out why I seemed to apparently not grow out of it. I have a high metabolism and have always had a big appetite," Ianto replied with a shrug.

Owen nodded. "Makes sense with the readings I got."

"Call it in, Toshiko, and get us all the usual as well. Oh, and if you want, you could ask Kathy to pick it up, I'm sure she wouldn't mind seeing you," Jack said, leering at Tosh.

Tosh rolled her eyes. "It's not like she doesn't have a job, Jack."

Ianto sat listening to the exchange, his mind filled with what was. Tosh and Kathy Swanson becoming closer, becoming lovers. But something was not right; this did not occur in the regular flow of time, it felt gritty and rough. The year of the paradox was the only answer; but did that mean they remembered?

Looking at that now nonexistent time was difficult, near impossible without looking at something that happened during that time and still was, like Tosh and Kathy's relationship.

They seemed to remember, but did the rest of the team? Hmm…Owen had said this Jack and Ianto had had a rough time until recently; could he, too, remember? Then what about Gwen?

They were questions he couldn't get the answers for without asking, unfortunately, and bringing up that horrible year was the last thing he wanted.

Meanwhile, Jack and Tosh had continued to talk.

"I doubt she'll mind, if you offer to get her something too. Even coppers have to eat."

Ianto turned towards Toshiko, smiling, and said, "Thank you."

As Tosh went to call in the order the remaining team members sat in silence. It was somehow a comfortable and uncomfortable one at the same time.

This world's Owen seemed to believe him, and he hoped from Jack's reaction earlier that he would come around as well. In fact…his partner's double seemed to be warming; it was a small mercy. Gwen, however, didn't seem so inclined to trust him.

Tosh returned a few minutes later.

"Now that we have food on the way, let's get down to it, shall we?"

Ianto took a deep breath as he began.

"I would like to apologize for not informing you a bit sooner, as soon as I had assessed the dangers."

"It would have saved us a lot of gun waving if you had," Jack replied.

"I know, my Jack gets rather exasperated with my bad habit of doing so; although it doesn't come up often, I can just hear my lecture already. I couldn't have said anything sooner, but as soon as you found me in the Archives I should have said something," Ianto said with a mixture of embarrassment and shame.

"Do you know what happened?" Tosh asked.

"Not precisely, from my perspective I was with my team investigating an identical piece of tech, and I was visually inspecting it from a close distance when it emitted a light and then I was somewhere else and yet in the same place. I'd hypothesize that the tech caused a switch between two alternate worlds as your Ianto isn't here, but how this is possible I have no idea, it should be impossible since the Last Time War; well, excluding the breach the Doctor caused and later resealed."

You know about the Time War?" Jack asked, surprised.

"I am familiar with it," Ianto replied, nodding.

"What's the Time War?" Gwen asked.

'Why am I not surprised?' Ianto thought, but kept it to himself.

"It's the last Great Time War between the Time Lords and Daleks, and it's not really relevant except that it means dimensions are closed. There should be no way to cross between them like this Ianto and ours obviously did."

Ianto felt a bit more of the tension in his body drain away; for whatever reason, this Jack seemed to believe him now.

"And I did pick up particles similar to chronons, but not chronons, when I scanned the tech. Seemingly indicating something happened," Tosh said.

Ianto nodded. "The particles could be consistent with something designed to cross the veil, they could be Void energies and particles, or as the Doctor likes saying, 'stuff,' but it should still be impossible now, unless the tech has a way to circumvent the block."

"It could be Time Lord tech of some kind," Jack offered.

Ianto thought for a moment, not sure what to think of Jack's guess, then he closed his eyes and sorted through what knowledge he currently had about Time Lord tech and research.

"It would be consistent with their tech and research; however, I'm not sure if there was anything like this in development."

"But this doesn't answer the question about what this Ianto actually _is_," Gwen piped in huffily, amazingly having stayed relatively quiet during the exchange.

"And you're good at being a bitch," Owen replied in kind.

Ianto could only think how grateful he was he didn't have to deal with this regularly.

"All you had to do was ask. I'm half-TARDIS."

"No bloody way," Owen cried in disbelief.

Meanwhile, Jack's jaw dropped and Tosh glared angrily.

Gwen, on the other hand, looked like someone had asked her to translate Time Lord.

"A TARDIS's housing is bio-organic-mechanical, but the heart of a TARDIS is grown. Mother had to finagle DNA for me to have a stable, purely organic body."

"Well, if the TARDIS had to have a kid, I would have thought he'd be gorgeous," Jack said with a glint in his eye.

Ianto just rolled his eyes. "My Jack has said the same thing."

"Bloody hell, Harkness…can't you stop flirting for a minute?"

"And ruin my image?" Jack asked innocently.

Ianto rolled his eyes again; at least this Jack's behavior made him feel at home.

"Okay, so that's half-TARDIS, and a good chunk human, but what's the other bit in your DNA?" Owen asked.

"Time Lord, Mother needed it to stabilize my life form. TARDISes are not meant to be in 100% organic bodies; without the addition, I would not have been…viable," Ianto explained the last part cringing a bit; describing yourself in terms of not being able to live was not pleasant.

Jack's eyes widened again. "How?"

Ianto opened his mouth to answer, then paused and closed his eyes, feeling the timeline.

"There…there will come a time when all of the Doctor's companions from one regeneration will come together to fight beside him. They will be together on the TARDIS, and it's then, in my world and timeline, that Mother used the gathered genetic material to make a unique DNA sequence and merge it with a half-Time Lord DNA sequence and then bind that to a TARDIS coral she was ready to give life to."

"Half-Time Lord? How does that happen?" Jack asked.

"I'm sorry, I can't go into any more detail, the event is set in your timeline as well; of course, Mother wouldn't be making a baby TARDIS, but the events surrounding it do happen," Ianto replied, remorseful that he couldn't explain more—but in his own timeline, he hadn't even been able to tell his Jack that much.

"Fascinating," Owen said, Jack nodding in agreement.

"This begs the question: is every Ianto Jones in every dimension some sort of non-human?" Toshiko asked.

Ianto closed his eyes, shifting through the possibilities, but he already knew the answer, it was something he had looked at in the past.

"Sadly, no, there are infinite possibilities and a good many of those are human." Ianto paused, diverting his eyes down sadly. "Rarely an ordinary life, but usually with an ordinary life span, unless something or someone intervenes."

"That's sad," Tosh replied.

Jack frowned, obviously realizing the meaning of this statement.

"Sadder than I believe you realize," Ianto said.

"Especially if he and Jack were…" Tosh cleared her throat. "I was wondering, if maybe contacting the Great Dragons might give us some idea of how to get both Iantos switched back?"

Ianto knew what she meant; what she didn't realize was that in all possibilities he had seen, that was exactly the case. In some cases the relationship might not be as deep, but that they were together in some way was a constant throughout the possibilities.

"I have no idea, I'm not really familiar with these Great Dragons," Ianto said.

"The Great Dragons are the spirits of my Ianto's kind. There are four: Air, Fire, Water, and Earth, and they've helped us out on occasion. They might have been able to help out at the height of their power, but now…we could ask, but like I said, I'm not really sure what they can do," Jack explained.

Ianto nodded. "If you think it might help."

"But in the meantime, Toshiko, don't forget to use science to scan that artifact," Jack said with a wink.

"No problem, Jack. Don't worry, we'll do our best to get the Iantos back to where they belong."

"If you would allow it, I can assist with the analysis of the tech," Ianto offered after nodding his head in agreement with continuing to investigate the tech.

"Yes, Jack…I could use the help," Tosh replied.

"Alright, you can help Tosh. But I'm going to have to insist you stay in the main Hub area. It's not that we don't trust you…it's that we don't want you to go anywhere we can't find you, in case we find a way to get you switched back," Jack offered.

Ianto nodded. "Of course."

"Wait a minute, how can you say we trust him? And how can someone be part-machine?"

"First of all, the TARDIS isn't a machine…she was mostly grown, not built. Secondly, machines don't have DNA," Jack replied, glaring at Gwen.

"I know we don't capture all aliens, but is it safe letting him have the run of the Hub? We don't do that with any other aliens who get stranded here."

Jack just stared at her before rolling his eyes and standing to walk out of the conference room.

"Don't you just walk away!"

"I'm walking away because I don't want to yell at you."

"Um, guys, Kathy just texted me to say she's upstairs with lunch, so, umm, I'll just go let her in."


	24. Through the Looking Glass - Chapter Ten

**__**Through the Looking Glass - Chapter Ten (Dragon Ianto)

Authors: Milady Dragon and Cyberdigi

Disclaimer: We don't own anything here. Sorry about that.

Author's note: Welcome again to another chapter. Thank you all for reading and commenting and such, hope you're all still enjoying.

* * *

**_28 June 2008_**

Toshiko called in lunch, and then headed out to her desk, to see if she could figure out anything about the device that had brought Ianto to this dimension. Owen followed, saying something about having work to do – which Ianto wondered about, because if this Owen was anything like his own then 'work' was a euphemism for 'playing the latest video game'. This left the dragon alone with Jack.

He felt a little uncomfortable about it, and he wasn't certain why.

"Tell me about your team," this Jack asked, leaning back in his seat. "I'm really curious about the differences…besides Gwen Cooper. I still can't believe she's a member of Torchwood where you come from."

Ianto sighed. "My Jack hired her because she reminded him of Rose Tyler –"

"You're kidding!" Jack looked shocked.

"I'm afraid not. I didn't agree with it, but he's the Director, after all…but after some issues he and I had, he began to see that any resemblance was shallow at best. Our Gwen could be a fantastic field agent, if she'd simply drop some of her prejudice and show some of her vaunted compassion toward her own teammates. Jack claimed it was her humanity that drew him, that we needed that humanity to remember what we're fighting for…well, me specifically, because I was having a major crisis in my belief in human beings at the time. Unfortunately, it backfired." He'd been so angry at humankind over Lisa that he'd almost completely turned his back on them. And he would have, too, if they'd been able to save Lisa.

At Jack's questioning look, Ianto explained. "I said that I'm the last of my kind?" Jack nodded. "Humans were responsible for the genocide of my race. It's a bit ironic that I'm fighting for them now."

"Why are you?" It was said quietly, and Ianto could see the sympathy in the other man's gaze.

"Because the humans that killed the dragons are dead and dust. I cannot hold it against the ones who live today. Besides, if aliens took over the planet, I doubt I'd still be free, and the Earth is my home, too. And then there's Jack. We might have had our differences but he's my mate. I love him very much."

There was an awkward moment of silence, and then Jack spoke again. "And the rest of your team?"

Ianto was glad for the change of subject. "Well, of course there's Owen and Toshiko, and they're very much like yours, only they aren't together like they are here."

"I can't imagine those two not a pair!"

"In my universe, Toshiko is with Kathy Swanson. They are Dragon-Friends, and became close during the Year of the Toclafane." Jack would know what that meant; Ianto had read it in his doppelganger's journal.

Judging from the flash of pain on the captain's face, he was correct. "Dragon-Friends?" he asked instead, not bringing up the subject of that missing year.

"That's a bit hard to describe," Ianto answered. "It's an honour, though, and they both deserve it."

"And they remember that year?"

Ianto nodded. "My entire team does…well, except for Gwen. She died early on, unlike Owen, Toshiko, and Kathy." He laughed. "I include Kathy as a teammate because she may as well be; she just doesn't want to give up her day job. My Jack keeps asking her, but she won't budge."

"What about Owen?"

"He's currently not with someone, but he's trying for a long-distance relationship with a Rift refugee named Diane Holmes. She lives in Anchorage, Alaska."

Jack seemed to know who Diane was, but he didn't volunteer any information as to her whereabouts. "And I'll be honest; I can't see Toshiko and Owen apart. They both came here broken in different ways, and those broken bits seemed to fit together in ways they didn't know existed. They had a lot to get through, but they made it work, and now they're both stronger for it."

Ianto nodded; his own Toshiko and Owen had been equally as broken, but Owen had turned that into something that Toshiko couldn't accept. It had really hit home to her that time with the telepathic pendant, and she'd given up her infatuation after that. There'd been a time with Ianto had thought that she and Tommy…but that relationship had really been doomed to failure, and while Ianto thought the technician and the time-crossed young soldier could be friends, he'd been glad that Toshiko had seemed to put that behind her as well. His friend was now truly with Kathy, bound by the Great Dragons and the horrible events of a year that only a handful could recall.

But that hadn't happened here, and he sincerely hoped that his best friend was happy.

A faint smile crossed his lips. "Too many differences here. No offence, but my world is looking better and better to me."

Jack laughed. "I don't blame you. Don't worry, Toshiko will work it out."

Ianto had no doubt of that.

* * *

Lunch arrived in the form of Chinese, brought in by Rhys Williams. The dragon got his first glimpse of the other-dimensional version of Gwen Cooper's fiancé as he came through the cog door, carrying several bags, the name on them the same as a carry-out that Ianto had often called on his own world. He hoped the food was just as good.

The team gathered in the boardroom once more, with Rhys in attendance. He didn't look any different from the pictures and CCTV footage the dragon had seen of him, and he wished he'd gotten to know his own world's Rhys in order to judge if there were any personality differences.

Jack explained to Rhys what had happened, and Ianto found himself under scrutiny. "He looks just like our Ianto," Rhys mused.

"You should see him when he changes," Jack answered. "It's really amazing."

"It is!" Toshiko enthused. "I'm still puzzled at the mass reduction between dragon-form and human-form, though."

"Well, it's magic, isn't it?" Rhys asked, grinning.

"I like you, Mr. Williams," Ianto said, returning the grin.

"It's Rhys, mate. No need to stand on formalities with me. I'm just an ordinary bloke whose folks once fought the good fight."

"Jack did say your parents were Torchwood. Are they…?" He didn't want to bring up anything unpleasant but he was curious.

"Nah. They're retired and living in Newport, perfectly happy. Of course, they have some pretty severe gaps in their memory…"

"Retcon?" Ianto wasn't surprised.

"Barry and Brenda retired after a particularly…interesting mission," Jack answered. "Personally, I'm not sure I would've Retconned them or not, but they requested it. They were good agents, and it's a shame they didn't want to keep their memories."

"And you didn't want to Retcon me," Rhys said. "But then, I'm useful."

"You're more than useful," Jack said. "You're family."

"And I'm the only one who can stand to be around Gwen for long periods of time."

"May I ask," Ianto put in, "if Gwen's so bad, why do you stay with her?"

"Well, first off Jack and Ianto asked me to keep an eye on her. And second, she's…well, she's pretty good in the sack. When she's not going off about conspiracies and how Jack is her soul mate." Rhys shrugged. "It could be worse."

"In my world, Gwen and Rhys are engaged."

Rhys looked surprised. "Really? And it's lasted? But hey…your Gwen is probably different from ours."

"She is, a bit. Not that I'm defending her, but she has the makings of a decent Torchwood agent." There were many times when Ianto despaired of her ever reaching the potential he saw in her. Gwen could have been so much more than she she'd settled for. "She just has certain…personality quirks that I have on good authority that yours does, as well."

"At least she can't sporadically see the future, like ours can," Toshiko said.

"You mean there's a world where Gwen actually became Torchwood?" Rhys was incredulous.

Ianto nodded. "And one where you don't know anything about it."

"Was I Retconned then?"

"No, nothing like that. Your parents were never members of the team, so you never grew up with it." He didn't mention Gwen's Retconning him over the affair she'd had with Owen; that wasn't exactly on topic with the conversation.

"That's a shame," Jack replied. "Rhys might not be a full member of the team, but his contributions have been invaluable."

Rhys blushed a little at the praise. "Just trying to do what needs to be done. I know how important Torchwood is."

Ianto nodded in understanding. Seeing this man, and his commitment to do what was right, made him wonder if it wasn't past time he got to know his dimension's Rhys Williams a little better. They may be completely different people, but then again he may be missing something by not at least meeting the man and giving him a chance.

They chatted through lunch, Jack regaling them with a couple of rather fantastical stories, one of which Ianto had heard before but still found funny. The food was particularly good, even better than what he'd had from the same place in his dimension, and he vaguely wondered if he could take some back with him.

Seeing the four of them together, Ianto couldn't help but realize just how close-knit they were, much like his own team. He glanced at Jack, who was busily shoveling noodles into his mouth with a rather playful abandon…much like his own Jack would have done. Apparently lack of table manners translated across universes…

He couldn't help but be glad that at least one Jack besides his own had someone who would be with him for a very long time. If he was anything like his Jack – and the other Ianto's journals had suggested he was – then he didn't deserve to be alone.

There were many things he wanted to ask about; like if there was an Alice and Steven here, or any number of personal questions that Ianto knew about his Jack, but not about this one. He wanted to compare the two more than he already had, to know the man here better.

But it wasn't his right to do so.

He wasn't this Jack's Ianto; he had no right to get too personal. He had no right to pry. Ianto would be going home soon anyway, and leaving this place. Knowing every personal detail about this team – and this Jack – wouldn't be necessary.

Instead, he simply enjoyed their company…for now.


	25. Through the Looking Glass-Chapter Eleven

Through the Looking Glass - Chapter Eleven (TARDIS Ianto)

Author: Cyberdigi and Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: We don't own anything here.

Author's note: Hello, everyone, and welcome back! I hope you enjoy this chapter.

* * *

Ianto leaned back, gently rubbing his newly-released wrists, as he watched Jack bite his lip while Gwen continued spouting xenophobic nonsense.

It was entertaining to watch, even more so as he didn't have to deal with it at home. But it did remind him of the persistent problem of Gwen in his world.

Seeing this possibility made him wonder…but it'd be something to ponder on when he was back where he belonged.

"Harkness! Here's your food, and for future reference I am _not _a delivery girl!"

"Kathy! You wound me."

"I'll give you a wound; Jones, you need to reel in the leash."

Ianto smiled; it seemed Kathy was another constant, but regardless, this still wasn't his Kathy and he would never presume to act like his counterpart—well, now that he had come clean.

"I believe DI Swanson that reeling the leash is a bit difficult right now."

Kathy just looked at him with a curious look, before turning to Tosh with a questioning look.

"There's been a bit of a…situation…with some alien tech."

"Bloody Torchwood, I'd love to hear, but I just got a call I gotta run back to work."

"Ahhh, and we have to be deprived of your sparkling presence?"

"Stuff it, Harkness," Kathy replied, kissing Toshiko on the cheek. "I'll see myself out."

* * *

In the wake of Kathy's rapid departure, it felt a bit like a whirlwind had whisked through the board room.

"Well, that was a pleasure as always," Owen said. "Can we distribute the food now?"

"Of course," Tosh replied, holding the bag of food up.

Ianto pressed his lips together, waiting for the food to be distributed. Despite his own being among the first handed out, Mam had instilled manners in her boy; he would wait until everyone had their food.

After everyone had their food in front of them, he dug in, devouring half of his first sandwich in two rapid bites, before turning his attention to adding salt and vinegar to his chips and digging into them as well.

"Damn, and I thought Harkness was bad," Owen commented.

Ianto swallowed before replying, "I unfortunately missed my midmorning meal."

"You missed breakfast?" Gwen asked, almost nicely.

"Oh no, I got breakfast, Jack prepared a full English breakfast."

"How on Earth can you be this hungry then?" she asked.

He was saved from rapidly swallowing again by Owen.

"Fast metabolism, remember? I'd hazard to guess that brain of his requires a lot more energy, in other words food, than a full human."

Gwen just blinked in response.

They lapsed into silence for several minutes after that.

"So, you and your Jack?" Tosh asked.

Ianto looked at her, he knew what she meant—were he and his Jack together?

However, seeing Gwen's slightly nervous fidgeting, he wanted to drag it out.

"I'm afraid you'll have to elaborate on that."

"She means are you doing it like bunnies?" Owen answered before Toshiko could.

"Oh, well then, yes. Yes, my version of Captain Jack Harkness and myself are in a relationship."

"Oh, really?" Tosh asked.

"Toshiko, that's a foregone conclusion! After all, I'm irresistible!" Jack replied with a twinkle in his eye.

Ianto rolled his eyes as he said, "Only if you ask yourself."

"Really, I can't see you both _not _together in some way," Tosh said dreamily.

Gwen huffed and made a face.

"Surely not every universe has to have Jack and Ianto together. I'm sure there are some where they aren't."

"In every possibility I've seen, Jack Harkness has some form of a relationship with Ianto Jones. It does defy statistics, but it's what I've encountered. I would think there are some possibilities that this doesn't happen, as 'always' and 'never' rarely if ever occur in nature, but if they do indeed exist, they would appear to be a very small number."

"That's so sweet!" Tosh squealed.

"But you're not even _human_, how can that even work? At least our Ianto isn't a machine," Gwen demanded with a slight shudder.

"We've been over this, Cooper. One: TARDISes are grown and have DNA, hence life form with a semi-built housing, and two: he's also almost half-human on the DNA front, and his body itself is pretty close to human," Owen explained.

"Drop it, Gwen, after all this is over we'll have a biology lesson if we need to," Jack said, glaring at Gwen.

Gwen looked like she wanted to argue but said no more, but Ianto had a feeling this wasn't the last he'd hear on the subject.

Jack coughed.

"I never really believed in the whole 'soul mates' idea, until I met my Ianto. Please don't take it the wrong way, but I do really want to get him back soon."

Ianto nodded. "I understand, I want to get back to my Jack as well, I don't think I've ever felt this far from him even during...when he was with the Doctor."

He did not know how much this team knew about Jack's travels, or indeed how similar it was to his own partner's experience, so he decided vagueness was the best solution.

"How long have you been together?" Tosh asked.

Ianto smiled warmly, thinking of his partner and their long ago meeting.

"I'm pleased to say we have been involved for 87 years."

He decided not to elaborate more at the moment as he took in this team's reactions.

Tosh was doing a splendid impression of a fish, as Jack whistled and Gwen rolled her eyes.

All the while, Owen cursed.

"Jesus Christ, Tea Boy, just how old are you?"

"One hundred and seven, I was born August 19, 1900. I always knew one day I would find him and at the very least give him Mother's message; though I suspect she hoped we'd become more. It was just a few months after our meeting in June 1920 we became lovers. The first 25 years are a bit complicated, but we both count them as we were together considerably more than we were apart."

There was silence for a moment as the entire team just stared at him, though there was a hint of something in Jack's eyes.

Jack coughed.

"So, tell us about your team."

It would seem Jack did not want that particular vein of conversation to continue, at least not in front of the team.

"What would you like to know?"

"Well, how about who's on it? How long you've been with Torchwood?"

"I've been with Torchwood since 1950. I was conscripted, not unlike my Jack, and I would imagine yourself, were. Jack and I took, and do mean took, control of Torchwood 3 in 1970, although we did allow Hartman to think she had control for a few years through Alex Hopkins in the 90s.

"As for our current team, it's not unlike yours in many ways. First, we have our leader, Captain Jack Harkness, and myself, as the second in command. Then we have our doctor, Doctor Owen Harper, and our technical analyst and genius, Toshiko Sato. That's the official team as far as the roster."

"What about me?" Gwen asked.

At the same time Jack asked, "You operate with just four?"

"It's a bit of a stretch sometimes, but we manage and we do have people we call on to help, Allies, as we call them. They are mostly people we've known since their childhood and we trust them completely."

Ianto struggled for a moment, trying to think of a nice way to describe the Gwen Cooper of his world.

"The Gwen Cooper of my universe is…incompatible with our work."

Gwen opened her mouth to ask something else but was cut off by Jack.

"Allies?"

"Most of them are children of former Torchwood operatives. We made it a point to help with the children of our operatives, including after those operatives retired, or…" He paused for an instant. "The children were allowed to keep their memories, for various reasons; however, they've all proved trustworthy and willing to help in whatever capacity they can. Without a doubt our most helpful is Rhys Williams."

"Rhys?!" Jack asked, eyebrows shooting to his hairline.

At the same time Gwen screeched, "_My _Rhys?"

Ianto rubbed his finger in his ear after the screeching.

"Yes, your fiancé, Rhys Williams. He's very resourceful and loyal. We'd offer him a full place on the team, but he's said he'd rather help us from the outside, and it has been very useful."

As Gwen sputtered and Tosh and Owen looked surprised, Jack looked like he was pondering this information.

"That's impossible, there's no way my Rhys could handle Torchwood!"

Ianto glared at her; he had known Rhys a majority of the man's life, and Ianto trusted him, and most of all, Rhys had more than earned that trust.

"Maybe your Rhys is different in my world," he paused as he watched her relax, reassured in her knowledge that she was right. "However, on the other hand, maybe you don't know _your _Rhys as well as you think you do."

Jack chose then to interrupt.

"As enlightening as this is, we want to get the Iantos back where they belong. Tosh, Ianto, if you could see what you can find?"

"Right, Jack."

With that, lunch was over.

* * *

Ianto attempted to inhale the remainder of his chips as Tosh stood to leave; conversation was great, except when one forgot to finish his food and wasn't done when it ended.

Tosh smiled.

"Go ahead and finish; I'll just go check on those readings I got earlier, since we have an idea what they are now."

Ianto nodded.

"Just give me ten minutes and I'll be down."

In reality, it took him less as he was still inhaling his food.

As he stood to leave, he turned to find Gwen behind him.

"I don't know how you managed it, but you won't fool me like you've fooled the others."

"Oh? And what is it that you think I've fooled them about?"

"I don't trust you, you Iantos are all the same: inhuman and not to be trusted."

Her eyes hardened even more.

"You've corrupted poor Rhys, and Jack has a blind spot for anyone named Ianto. But that alternate version of me wasn't fooled; did she save Jack, show him the truth? Showed him _real _love? Who he should trust? That's why she's incompatible to your Torchwood, she wouldn't cater to you. Well, I won't, just like she didn't."

Ianto could only stare at her for a moment, not sure whether to laugh or cry. This was just one more thing in an unbelievable, stressful day.

"You…you self-righteous…narrow-minded…cow! Are you so blinded by yourself you can't even think—no, that's not right—so blinded with your own view of the world? I don't even know where to begin with that idiotic dribble. I don't _want_ to be here, as interesting as it could be under different circumstances, I want to be home with my partner, Jack Harkness, the one I've loved for longer than your _parents_ have been alive, _child_!

"Now, as for my version of yourself—oh, you two are alike, make no mistake. Just not how you seem to think. You both are so sure you are right, that your way is the right way, regardless of how others might be more experienced, know more; as far as you are concerned you are right, except you are _wrong_. We met Gwen Elizabeth Cooper when she was a child and she decided she was in love with Jack, that they were soul mates, and she keeps coming back no matter how many times we retcon her, oh, no, she doesn't remember, it's just pure dumb luck, because all she does is bring trouble and rants about her soul mate and other nonsense.

"Oh, and don't think that I'm making things up, because neither you nor your counterpart could be Jack's soul mate. Why? Because you don't know him. You see a big superhero who can do no wrong; you don't see a man who is hurt and has hidden darkness. Jack Harkness has not always been a good man, and that still haunts him, _both _versions of him. You love an ideal, and that does not make a real, loving relationship.

"But you don't understand love; after all, you're marrying a man because you think no one else would have you. The Rhys Williams I know is everything I described earlier and more, but you don't see that, all you see is a sweet man who loves you and cooks for you—oh, and puts up with your antics. Well, most of you antics, he wouldn't put up with your affairs, but that's right, you are so self-centered you only confessed because you drugged him with Retcon and he wouldn't remember. You didn't do it because you felt like you were wrong, but because you wanted forgiveness with no consequences.

"And you think that you deserve a man like Jack Harkness? That you know what's best for the world? You are nothing but a _child_, a child who doesn't understand the world, let alone real _grown up _love."

He didn't even give her a chance to respond, he pushed past her.

Once outside the room, Ianto took a moment to collect himself before heading to Toshiko's station, paying no attention to the eyes on him; watching Ianto from the shadows shaking his head.

* * *

Ianto took a couple deep, calming breaths as he approached this world's Toshiko's station.

He had lost his control with this Gwen, and losing control was the last thing he wanted to do in this time and place.

But that control was just barely being held together by sheer will already; he felt utterly lost, and Gwen's prodding was just the last straw, at least for now. It had been a quick fix to his fraying nerves, but it was just a quick release in a mounting pressure pot, and he knew sooner or later it would be too much.

He could only hope that the release would come when he was back home in the arms of his partner.

"I have more scans of the particles and energies I mentioned, but I'm afraid I don't have any references to compare them to," Tosh said as he stood just behind her shoulder.

"Let me take a look."

She shifted slightly to give him a better view and handed him the keyboard to navigate through the data.

He quickly shifted through the available scans.

"Definitely void 'stuff,' to quote the ever eloquent Doctor."

He noticed her slight grimace again, but thought better of asking, at least for the moment.

"Well, that at least confirms some of our suspicions, but it doesn't tell us how it works. Let me see if I can get this side open, it has grooves like it might be an openable panel."

Ianto watched for a few minutes as she worked with opening the side panel.

"So, how long have you and Kathy been involved?"

Tosh glanced back at him before resuming her work.

"Depends on if you count the time in the paradox or not."

Ianto nodded in understanding.

"I see, that year did happen as well; and apparently, you remember. Does the rest of the team remember as well?"

"Except Gwen; Jack and Ianto decided it was best not to tell her, let her keep her innocence."

Ianto nodded again; he understood the reasoning, he and his own partner had debated not telling his team about that year, but ultimately they had decided to tell Tosh and Owen.

"I can understand the sentiment, there are times that I wish I could scrub that year from my memory, unpleasant would be an understatement, but at least it ended with relatively few problems."

He frowned as he thought of the ending; it was relatively problem free, even if the Doctor had proved he could be the most infuriating being in existence…and he lived with Jack Harkness, that was saying something.

However, he noticed Toshiko was mirroring his frown with a more severe one.

Had theirs ended differently? Ianto looked at that between-time, and was confused; it was indeed very similar to his, although the Doctor was a bit more…focused on his goal. That might be because his counterpart and the others had denied him what he wanted as opposed to Lucy Saxon just taking it away. Definitely not the Doctor's best moment.

"I take it your ending was not what you hoped for?"

"Oh, it was insofar as it ended, but it wouldn't have had to go that far if the Doctor hadn't been so selfish and cared about the rest of us."

"I see, that's why you're angry, and don't trust me."

Tosh looked at him, surprised.

"I don't think you're here to do harm; but you're connected to _him_ and you don't know what he _did_."

"Oh, I have a fairly good idea; the Doctor is fairly consistent between the dimensions. He had some cockamamie plan that made no sense and didn't really fix much and then wanted to take the Master with him to live in peace and love."

Toshiko blinked at him.

"Well, yes, basically. If he had just stopped him to begin with the whole thing wouldn't have happened, and then if he wasn't an arsehole, who doesn't care about anything but himself...How can you _not _be mad at him?"

"Oh, I am, trust me, although not exactly for the reason you are, but he still is and always will be…family, for lack of a better description."

Ianto paused, thinking for a moment, before continuing.

"I won't tell you not to be angry, because he did mess up and hurt people, but you saw him in one fleeting moment in a nearly thousand-year existence; I don't think it's fair to judge him solely on those twenty minutes. Especially a timelord who literally reinvents himself throughout his life."

Tosh looked at him, confused.

"What do you mean?"

"I won't say he wasn't unthinking or an arsehole at the time. But any being that has saved the Earth and the Universe as much as he has is not uncaring, or even wholly unthinking. Since the time war in particular his latest regenerations have had a problem with their zoom."

"Zoom?"

"His Ninth regeneration was too focused on the big picture much of the time; 'everyone lives,' he said once, but neglected to notice that it was because someone took the bomb and would be blown up himself; he was too zoomed out. Now the Tenth regeneration, the one you dealt with during the year—he's become too focused on the smaller parts of the picture in general. Oh, he still saves the world, but he's focused on himself and the specific people; he's too zoomed in.

"I haven't and have no intention of dealing with Ten, however, I would hazard to guess that he didn't want to be alone anymore. For all the Master's insanity, he was a childhood friend to the Doctor, and his last link to his people. And he was so focused on having that connection back, maybe finding a way to make the Master not so insane, that much of what he would normally consider was forgotten.

"Feeling alone can cause an individual to do strange things…timelords are no different. Make no mistake, he has issues that last through all the regenerations, leaving Companions behind being one; but it's not out of malice, he just doesn't want them to leave _him_. I have every hope that one day he'll realize that he has a lot of people who care about him, despite how he might have treated them. His next regeneration, from Jack's one interaction with him, seems much better, more aware; he even apologized to my Jack for what he had done."

"So if you're not angry about that, why are you angry with him?"

"I'm more hurt by what was done to Jack that year; however, I understand why it was necessary, as does my Jack. And for all his plan didn't actually accomplish anything, he did give Jack a suitable distraction so he could end the paradox, and as I said before, I understand to a point why he wanted to save the Master. What makes me mad is that after everything the Master did to her, he wanted to bring him on my Mother to live. Compound that with all the abuse my partner suffered just for him and his nonchalant attitude about it, that's the root of my anger. But I won't judge those actions on a future regeneration; and for all of this regeneration's faults, he is still the Doctor, still the same being that has saved us time and again; but I can acknowledge that and still be angry with him."

Tosh looked at him contemplatively.

"I haven't really thought of it that way, and maybe there is truth there; but I'm not sure I care."

Ianto was about to answer when he remembered something he saw earlier.

"And that's perfectly fine and acceptable, I'd be more surprised if you weren't. Ten is a bit of a bastard when it comes to not getting his way, and there's every possibility he could unfortunately do more to deserve that anger. But that's not all he is, especially outside of this regeneration."

At that moment, the panel popped open and both of them peered inside.

"There's a set of dials, maybe like an address?" Tosh pondered.

"I'd say that's reasonable, it'd make sense there'd be a way to set the destination, but might I request you not touch it, as I'd like to get home and not yet another alternate reality?"

"I wasn't planning to, but it looks like it's a moot point. The dials appear to be locked in place; maybe once it's activated it locks the location until the person it switched is back?"

"That sounds plausible, if untestable at the moment."

Looking at the readings from the scanner, Ianto continued.

"It looks like it's still active, so maybe the switch was designed with a return function—provided it's still working."

Tosh looked at the scans as well.

"I'm not seeing anything to tell us how to initiate the return, but everything seems to be centered around the button; perhaps pressing it again would activate the return switch."

"Or it could deactivate the connection."

"I'm not seeing anything that indicates a power down could happen; we might just have to take a chance."

"Nothing ventured, I suppose."

Slowly, Ianto reached out and pressed the button and …nothing.


	26. Through the Looking Glass-Chapter Twelve

Through the Looking Glass - Chapter Twelve (Dragon Ianto)

Authors: Milady Dragon and Cyberdigi

Disclaimer: We don't own any of this, which stinks

Author's Note: I am so sorry, I meant to get chapters posted before now but my brain got eaten by a big bang and I was totally distracted. Here is the next chapter, and I hope you like it.

* * *

**_28 June 2008_**

Lunch broke up, and Rhys headed back to work; he worked for Harwood's in this world as well, and he said he enjoyed having a job that didn't go from sheer boredom to adrenaline overload within seconds. Ianto had laughed at that. Torchwood wasn't for everyone.

Although, knowing how well this version of Rhys was taking the weirdness of it all gave Ianto some food for thought, and he was determined to at least meet with his dimension's Rhys at least once, to see for himself what sort of man he was.

Jack claimed to have a call to make to UNIT, and Owen headed back down to the autopsy bay, leaving the dragon with Toshiko. He really hadn't noticed much of a difference between his friend and this woman – aside from her being involved with Owen, of all people – and he was curious to get to know her a little better.

And so, with Jack in his office and Owen doing something that Ianto was fairly certain was some sort of video game, the dragon found himself at Toshiko's workstation, where the piece of alien tech that had been responsible for him being there in the first place sat, looking very innocuous and not like it was some sort of dimension-jumper.

"I've been getting some strange readings from it," she said as soon as Ianto had joined her, "like chronon particles, but different."

"Could I see?"

Toshiko nodded, bringing up her readings on one of her terminals. Ianto frowned; there was something familiar about the readings, but he couldn't place it. "I've seen those before…" he murmured, chewing on his thumbnail absently.

"Any idea where?" the technician asked curiously. "That might give us a clue as to what they mean."

Ianto was very proud of his memory; it wasn't exactly eidetic, but he could remember more than most humans. And what he was seeing was tickling his subconscious. He shook his head. "Maybe it will come to me if we move on."

"All right. And in the meantime I'll plug the readings into mainframe and see what she comes up with." Toshiko picked up the box, careful not to come near the button on the top. "As you can seem it's really not much of anything. I was thinking, if the device in your universe was the same as this one, then maybe they're linked in some way."

"That makes sense."

"There are a couple of grooves on one side; I'm going to try to get it open." Suiting actions to words, Toshiko picked up a small tool and began to attempt to pry the side off. "So," she went on as she worked, "how did you meet your Jack?"

"It was on the side of a mountain," Ianto answered, watching her competent fingers work. "Jack was on the run after the deaths of the previous Torchwood team members at the hands of the then-leader."

"Why was he running?"

"Because Yvonne Hartman thought he was responsible, despite the proof to the contrary," he answered. "She moved her own people in, and Jack had to leave Cardiff in a hurry. He ended up in Ddraig Llyn…my home village. He stayed in my inn for weeks before he actually met the dragon."

Toshiko glanced up at him, frowning. "You make it sound like you and the dragon are two different beings."

"Sorry, that's not what I meant." He smiled self-deprecatingly. "But Jack didn't have any idea that the Ianto Jones who served him coffee and made certain his room was cleaned was the dragon he found perched on the mountainside." Now this he remembered, as if it had happened yesterday…sensing Jack as he'd watched the dragon singing over the valley.

"And you actually ran an inn?" she asked incredulously.

Ianto nodded. "I still own it actually. Ddraig Llyn will always be my home."

"And magic really exists on your world?"

"It does, but it's fading more and more each year, as humans stop believing in it. There are very few magical places left in my world; Ddraig Llyn is one, there's Avalon, what is now called Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, Izuma Taisha in Japan, the Five Great Mountains in China, Uluru in Australia…those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. But only five hundred years ago there were many more." He couldn't help but feel the loss of such power in his world, and he mourned it.

A hand touched his, and he found Toshiko looking at him sympathetically. "I'm sure as long as you're around, there'll be one magical place left."

He smiled at her. "Very true. I do admit, you're very much like my Tosh, in that you're accepting the idea of magic really well. It took Jack forever to even think about considering it. He kept quoting Clarke's Law at me and denying that I was even the least big magic. Something about ancient aliens coming to Earth and using genetic manipulation to create my people..." He laughed. "Honestly, I wanted to slap him at times."

Toshiko's eyebrows lowered in confusion. "That doesn't sound like the Jack I know…but then, I suppose he isn't the Jack I know. My Jack's seen a lot, and accepts more weirdness than anyone I'd ever met."

"I don't know why," Ianto shrugged. "It's just been the way Jack is." He grinned. "I've been able to get him to come round to my point of view."

Toshiko snorted. "I'm sure you have." She went back to work on the device.

"Although, I admit I was bad in the opposite regard at first. I believed that Jack's being unable to stay dead was magical in nature, since I could sense the energy that makes him that way. It wasn't until I went to Cardiff and felt the Rift for the first time that I realized that wasn't the case."

"You can sense the Rift energy?" She looked very intrigued.

"Yes, I can even tell when we're going to get an alert." He chose not to mention anything about the negative Rift spikes, not knowing if this Toshiko knew about them. "The vortex energy that keeps Jack immortal is the same thing: time and space, filling a particular place…in Jack's case, a particular person. It's like my brain itches around him. And before you ask, no, it's not uncomfortable at all."

"The benefit being is that you get to keep track of your Jack easily," she teased.

Ianto laughed. "Yes, so I can at least attempt to head trouble off before he can walk into it!"

"Can you sense it in our Jack as well?"

"I can, but it's different…I can't explain, but it just doesn't feel quite the same."

"Harmonics between dimensions," she answered blithely. "Each dimension is slightly different, and therefore the basic operating systems of each are different as well. Physical laws aren't the same either, because here magic is defined as sleight of hand or illusion, and has no real basis in fact."

"Don't say that in front of David Copperfield," Owen's voice interrupted them. Ianto turned, watching the medic come to stand just on the other side if Toshiko.

"David Copperfield?" he asked curiously.

"Famous magician," Owen answered. "He made the Statue of Liberty disappear."

Ianto raised an eyebrow, and Toshiko snorted, going back to work on the device. "Illusion," she explained. "It was easy to work out, really."

Owen laughed. "Yeah, take all the fun out of it, won't you?" He rested his arm on the back of Toshiko's chair, standing well within her personal space.

The dragon still couldn't quite fathom a relationship between Owen and Toshiko working, but it obviously was. It surprised him, but he thought about what Jack had said about them both being damaged and how those damaged parts just seemed to fit. He had to admit, the pair of them looked quite content.

"All right," the technical genius said, her eyes staring into his, "what was that look for?"

"What look?" Ianto asked, confused.

"The one you just had, that said 'I can't believe what I'm seeing but it must be true'."

He shook his head, one side of his mouth curling upward. "All right, I admit that seeing the two of you in a happy relationship is just a bit…odd. It took me off my guard."

Owen frowned. "We're not together in your universe?"

"No, I'm afraid not. Toshiko is with someone else, and you're…well, you're alone, but there's someone you want to be with only it would be long distance."

The two looked at each other, and there was that silent type of communication that happened between couples. It was that that finally convinced Ianto that what he was seeing was true, that these two were indeed meant to be together, even if things were different in his own world.

In a way, he felt almost cheated at seeing this with his own Owen and Toshiko. Toshiko had had feelings for Owen, up until the affair with the telepathic pendant when she'd 'overheard' Owen's thoughts concerning her. It hadn't helped that Owen and Gwen had been having an affair at the time; that should never have occurred, and as much as Ianto considered Owen a friend he had lost quite a bit of respect for him over that.

Of course, Gwen hadn't been a member of the team in this universe. There had been no affair, and therefore Toshiko hadn't had to be a witness to Owen's condescension. It seemed as if that was missing there, and Ianto was glad of it. The last thing he wanted was to see any form of Toshiko Sato hurt.

In this dimension, Owen and Toshiko seemed truly made for each other.

That didn't mean that he couldn't be glad that it hadn't worked out for them on his own team, even if he'd missed all of the little 'couple-y' things between them. Perhaps that would come later for them, if only with different partners.

"Ah ha," Toshiko's soft cry of triumph broke him from his thoughts.

The device lay open in her hands. Ianto leaned over so he could see inside, and what he saw was a set of dials, with strange markings on them. "What is that?" he asked softly.

"I'm not sure…" she prodded one of the dials gently with her tool. "Maybe some sort of coordinate system? That would make the most sense…and they're locked, so I don't think we have to worry about them changing anytime soon."

"That's good; I'd like to get home at some point."

"Yeah, we'd like to get our Tea Boy back too," Owen answered. "A pining Jack Harkness makes us all miserable."

"I heard that," Jack said, his voice startling Ianto slightly. The dragon had been so focused on the alien technology that he hadn't sensed the immortal's approach. "And I'll have you know I don't _pine_."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that."

Jack pushed himself forward, in order to best see the inside of the device. "Yeah, I have to agree on the coordinate setter theory," he added. "And, if it's locked, maybe that means it can't be changed until there's a transfer back."

"Makes sense," Toshiko answered. She picked up her scanner, taking readings from the now-open casing. "I'm still getting those odd almost-chronon readings."

"Can I see?" Jack asked.

Toshiko showed him the readout on the scanner. "Those look familiar," he mused.

Ianto nodded. "That's what I thought, as well. I could swear I've seen those before somewhere, and not that long ago, either." He wanted to kick himself for not being able to pull the information up from his mind, hoping that it wouldn't be important to getting him home.

"The device is still active, though," Toshiko said.

"Then why doesn't Dragon Boy just push the button?" Owen suggested. When everyone stared at him, he shrugged. "Well, if the thing it still active, and the coordinate-things are still set…"

Ianto chuckled. "It really would be that simple, wouldn't it?"

"This is Torchwood," Jack laughed. "Of course it would be."

"I knew there was a reason I tolerated you," Toshiko teased, carefully sliding the cover back together.

"Oi!" Owen exclaimed. "I also happen to be a tiger in the sack!"

"That's a bit more information than I actually needed to know," the dragon said primly. "Knowing your prowess in bed isn't something I want to dwell on, in _any_ dimension."

"You're just jealous."

"If he's anything like my Ianto," Jack leered, "then he has absolutely nothing to be jealous about." He draped a companionable arm around Ianto's shoulders, and it was all the dragon could do not to lean into the touch.

"I'm sorry Jack," Ianto said, "but I'm afraid you'll never know that."

Jack pouted. "And here I was, thinking that being the filling in an Ianto sandwich would be fun."

"Jesus, Harkness!" Owen gagged.

Ianto laughed hard, he couldn't help it. He was beginning to realize that, despite everything, he would actually miss this team, even though they were much like his own. He wanted to get back to his mate more than anything, but he would always remember this time, when he'd met friends that weren't quite his friends, and a lover who wasn't his mate. It was something he would not forget.

"All right," Toshiko said, handing the device to Ianto. "If it was pushing the button that got you here, then let's see if pushing it will get you back."

The dragon took a deep breath, his heart beginning to race. His gaze met those of this Torchwood team, and he nodded to each in turn. "It's been a pleasure meeting you all," he said sincerely. "And, please don't take this the wrong way, but I hope I never meet any of you again."

"The feeling's mutual," Owen snarked, even though there was a glint in the medic's eye that said it had been an equal pleasure to meet the dragon. "Now push the fucking button and let us get back to work."

"I never did get to do those mass ratio tests," Toshiko sighed, smiling softly.

"Safe trip home, Ianto Jones," Jack added, standing back with his hands in his pockets, his eyes solemn.

Ianto took several steps away from the team, not wanting any of them to get caught up in the transport field. With another deep breath, he firmly pushed the button.

Nothing happened.

Disappointment slammed into him hard, and he barely resisted the urge to throw the device across the Hub. He swore in Latin and then used a Boeshane word that his mate had taught him, which had this Jack raising an eyebrow in a silent, '_Oh_ _really? I taught you that?_'

"Back to the drawing board," Jack said aloud. "Don't worry, Ianto…we'll figure it out."

Ianto hung his head, wondering if he really would see his mate again. He thought about the destiny that he and Jack supposedly had, and knew he had to have faith that they'd work something out –

"Wait," Toshiko shouted. "Don't move, Ianto!"

He stared at her. "What is it?"

"There's a build-up of energy from the device," she answered, checking the scanner she was holding. "Perhaps it had to recharge before it could open the door between dimensions."

The dragon wanted to point out to her that the original transfer had been instantaneous, but then he really didn't know if it had. He recalled hearing Jack shouting at Gwen, but how long –

And on that thought, the Hub vanished in a flash of light.


	27. Through the Looking Glass-Chapter Thirte

Through the Looking Glass - Chapter Thirteen (TARDIS Ianto)

Authors: Cyberdigi and Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: We don't own this, not at all

Author's Note: Hey, everyone! Sorry this has taken so long to update, my bad completely. Hope this was worth the wait!

* * *

Nothing.

"Well, at least it appears to have had no effect on the connection, maybe the return trip needs to be initiated on the other side; one side starts it and the other ends the switch. I'll run some more scans, and talk to the Earth Dragon."

"I…I just need to take a moment, get a cup of coffee."

Tosh waved him off, focused on the scanner.

This world's Jack had said to stay in the main Hub, but he had to get away. With that one press of a button his tightly wound control was unraveling by the second. Fortunately, he knew about a little side tunnel off Jack's office…he just needed a few minutes.

He was so alone; he was cut off from his partner, and gradually as he stayed here he was becoming aware that he was cut off from his Mother as well.

He had never realized how connected he still was to Mother; like the umbilical cord had never been fully cut, and while there was an alternate version of Mother out there he wasn't connected to that TARDIS as she wasn't his Mother.

No Jack, no Mother, and not sure he could get home, at least on this side, he leaned against the wall and slid down to the floor and started crying…sobbing.

* * *

Jack saw the doppelganger of his mate leave Toshiko and go to a side tunnel near his office.

He frowned; he had told him not to leave the main Hub. Had he misjudged him?

Quietly he followed him.

When he reached the entrance, he stood in shock as he saw the alternate Ianto Jones sobbing into his hands.

* * *

Ianto's head jerked up as he felt a presence, Jack, sit down beside him. He hastily tried to turn his head so he could wipe away the tears.

He felt his partner's clone place a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, I know you miss him."

Ianto smiled sadly, that was so much of an understatement, and not even everything—it was almost funny.

"Oh, I do, but I also miss Mother…and then the realization that the return switch might not be able to be initiated on this side…it was just one thing too many."

Ianto paused for a moment.

"Torchwood makes the impossible, possible, I know that as well as any Torchwood operative does; and with Toshiko Sato the impossible becomes more easily possible. But for me, I know how this is supposed to work, which under other circumstances would make it a challenge; but I've been far from prepared to deal with not only the loss of my partner from my mind, but also my Mother. I never realized she has never _not_ been there. It's just been a stress to one degree or another since I've arrived."

Jack nodded in understanding.

"I can't even know what you're going through with that, but I do understand about missing someone…what my Ianto and I have been through to get where we are now. But I will tell you this: I have it on pretty good authority that my Ianto and I have a destiny together, which means he has to be here in order to fulfill it. So I have absolute faith that he'll be back…which means you'll be back in your own dimension, too."

At the mention of their shared destiny, it filled his mind, dragons flying through the universe and through this world's Jack and Ianto; magic would return.

"Yes, yes, you do have a great destiny," Ianto said with a smile. "And I suppose that's a reassurance…even if it doesn't fill the emptiness in my mind."

"Let's take this somewhere more private and more comfortable," Jack said, rising and reaching his hand down to help Ianto up.

Ianto nodded, taking the offered hand.

* * *

Ianto sat in the seat across from Jack's desk and accepted the tumbler of scotch Jack offered him.

"I'm certain everything's going to work out the way it's supposed to. But, until we work things out, you're welcome here. I know it's not worth a lot, but you are."

"It actually helps more than you can imagine…imagine being dropped where people have the faces of your loved ones…but they look at you with suspicion…at best."

As Ianto finished he threw back the tumbler, downing the entire contents; he didn't dare touch the time element Jack alluded to, because frankly, he wasn't sure how long a bonded TARDIS could last after being cut off from its partner. It would do no good to mention it, it certainly couldn't make them go faster and nothing could be done to alleviate any danger short of getting him to his partner.

Although, he _did_ fleetingly think about sharing this information...his habit of withholding information had already got him in trouble once today.

"We're not suspicious, not anymore…well, there's Gwen, but it's her natural state where Ianto is concerned. You're just another Rift refugee, and we'll do our best by you."

Ianto nodded in agreement.

"Go ahead…I know there are things you want to ask," Ianto said.

"There are, but then you expected it," Jack said as he motioned at Ianto's glass for a refill, with a grin.

Ianto nodded holding out his glass.

"I can hold my alcohol, thank you."

"That's very much like your counterpart, although I have been known to get him drunk enough to sing in public."

"My Jack has to spike the drink with more than alcohol to get me that far."

Jack's grin widened.

"Just so you understand…singing is very important to my Ianto. It's like a physical imperative to sing, and a lot of dragon life is tied up in various songs…they have songs for everything from birth to death, and courtship, and mating…it's crazy, the songs he knows.

"Anyway, it's become my duty to get him drunk on Anniversary nights, and then make sure we get to a karaoke bar.

"Of course, he's an amazing singer; Owen keeps saying he needs to get famous so Ianto can introduce him to his favorite actress du jour…I think this year it's Keira Knightly, it changes constantly.

"It's so much fun to get him up in front of a crowd, because Ianto embarrasses easily, but he always does it. This past year, Toshiko decided that Ianto and I needed to sing together—but then, she's a hopeful romantic.

"So we went up on stage, and I still don't know why he wouldn't sing 'Endless Love' with me, just because we were in a pub full of drunken Welshmen…

"Especially when we ended up singing this really sappy love song to each other. To this day I think Ianto didn't quite realize what he was getting himself into when he let me choose that song.

"And, when we were done, the looks on the team's faces…oh lord, it was worth it. I thought Owen was going to vomit out of sheer sugar overload.

"Toshiko literally had stars in her eyes; I thought she was going to make some sort of fangirly noise."

"Somehow, I believe your Gwen did not share the sentiment."

Jack snorted.

"Well, she doesn't get it. It's the whole 'pretending to be human' thing, she doesn't like secrets, especially when they're kept from her. And no, she didn't, but this was also the first time she really understood that Ianto and I were together. She couldn't have missed it."

Ianto thought of his brief encounter with the woman…somehow he thought it might be a bit more than "pretending to be human."

Still, he snorted.

"If she's was anything like the Gwen of my world she could still ignore it."

"No, she's not ignoring it now, but she doesn't like it. And I don't care. It's not her life, it's mine, and I'll spend it with the person I want to."

"And she would jump at the chance if you so much as winked and nodded at her."

"Not going to happen. She has Rhys, even though I'm not convinced that's a healthy relationship I'm not about to come between anyone. Besides, she doesn't love me...she loves the image of me, the hero she sees when she looks at me. That's not anything to build a relationship on."

"I don't deny that's all true, doesn't mean that it's true to her, though; she seems like the type who, once she has something in mind, she doesn't let it go…but I believe you had some questions…ones you didn't want to ask in front of the team?"

"I know it's personal, but I really wanted to know about your relationship with your Jack. It's wonderful that me and Ianto seem to end up together a lot."

"Together can be a bit relative, there are times where there isn't much substance to the relationship, but in general, there is always an Ianto for a Jack."

"I would guess it just depend on if they're smart enough to realize it."

"Or too broken to take a chance. What would you like to know about our relationship?"

"I suppose it all boils down to, are you happy?"

"Happy is too mild of a word, for the joy and fulfillment Jack continues to bring to my life," Ianto replied with a wide grin.

Jack seemed to relax a bit.

"I've always been afraid after so long together we'd drive each other crazy, even if I do want to spend eternity with my Ianto."

"Any couple will drive each other crazy, there is a reason for the term 'old married couple,' but despite that you become so much a unit that it's like you're a part of each other, being apart is like cutting off a limb."

"I suppose spending eternity with someone is the ultimate way to show someone you love them."

Ianto smiled at Jack; he didn't know if it was indeed eternity for this Jack and Ianto, but for himself and his partner there would be an end…it was very _very_ far in the future, but an end nonetheless.

"A bit… though most variations of Jack and Ianto are likely to take breaks, eternity is a long time; however, for me and my Jack we're a bit different."

"How so?"

"I'm part TARDIS, and a TARDIS is rarely far from its partner. It's just part of being a TARDIS and being bonded in that manner, bonded in ways many can't understand."

"My Ianto is like that in a way, he explained to me that dragons mate for eternity, and that they don't go without a partner. Plus, he's been alone for nearly a thousand years, so he's craving that contact. I can't even imagine that."

Ianto nodded in agreement.

"I can't imagine being without my Jack that long."

"He's been by himself for so long, it's frightening how much I don't want him to be alone anymore."

Ianto smiled, despite how different they all were, there were still similarities.

"I feel the same about my Jack, actually."

"I've gone from relationship to relationship, none of them lasting very long; it's daunting to even think I could have forever with someone. And yet, I wouldn't trade it for anything."

"If you are anything like my Jack, all of those relationships were haunted by the fact that you would have to leave and/or you would outlive the person."

"You're right. Everything's been so…ephemeral, I guess. That's the word my Ianto uses to describe being mortal. It really fits the situation; they fade away."

Ianto looked at the wall; on the other side, this Jack's team was busy trying to find a way to get their Ianto back.

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, all things fade away, it is the cycle of things—a beginning, a middle, an end. But for some that cycle is at a different rate, or maybe even warped beyond what is natural. So people like us watch the people we love—teammates, family, everyone—fade away. Fade from everything but our hearts."

"It's almost like the team…they're my family, but their lives are so short, especially working for Torchwood. And then there's my own blood family…they'll all be gone too soon. For a long time I didn't want to get too close, because of their mortality, but now…that's something else Ianto taught me: don't be afraid to love, even the ones we'll outlive."

Ianto smiled sadly, thinking about his sister.

"My Jack has no blood relative in this era. However, we've always had my sister when she was still with us, at least; and we still have my niece and grand niece and their families. Of course, there have been our teams as well, but our current one is the first we have let in as much as this one. We handpicked them—found them at their lowest points and built them up to the agents they are today—and it feels more like we raised them than picked or hired them, Tosh and Owen in particular. Then there's the children: Rhys, Melissa—sorry, Alice—a few others, all children of Torchwood operatives, and a few others like Kathy that stumbled on us and just wouldn't leave; and we know we can trust them, in some ways they are like Jack's and my children and we are very proud of them; especially Rhys."

"Rhys?"

Ianto beamed.

"He's grown up into a fine man, loyal, dependable. The first time we gave him an actual assignment was to monitor Gwen Cooper. But he's always been ready to help if we needed another hand."

"So much different between our two worlds, it seems."

"Are you sure about that?" Ianto asked, examining his drink.

"In this world, Rhys doesn't even know about Torchwood."

"I know, however, that doesn't mean he isn't the same man, with all those same qualities, _despite_ what your Gwen seems to think."

Ianto paused, thoughtfully taking a sip before continuing.

"Different experience will make us different, but at our core, no matter what has come before, some things are fundamental."

"You do have a point. I've never looked beyond his background check."

"And likely what Gwen has said about him, I'd imagine," Ianto replied.

Ianto stared at his drink a moment longer.

"In fact, your Gwen, or rather more like your team, has given me some food for thought in regards to the Gwen Cooper of my world."

"Oh?"

"She's always been a nuisance, at least since she was 13. She was a witness to an alien situation, and because of her age we opted to not recon her; unfortunately, she decided Jack was her soulmate and proceeded to stalk him—and I think you have an idea, given she seems to have similar obsessive tendencies to yours. So we were forced to retcon her; but she has the damndest luck and manages to rediscover us frequently, she never breaks through the retcon. However, last year, she suffered a concussion shortly after watching us use the resurrection gauntlet. When she woke she seemed to have suffered some detailed hallucination that she was second in command of Torchwood and it was three years in the future. Combining the hallucination with her precognition, means some of those things seem to have happened to some degree. Now I wonder if she could have seen what was at least a part of a 'could-have-been' timeline; but even if that isn't the case, or not entirely the case, seeing another Gwen Cooper gives one some food for thought. Both good and bad."

"I think I'm glad our Gwen is just a regular human; I don't think I could handle it if she was vaguely precognizant."

"She's not aware of it either, she has dreams of the future. She, however, seems to ignore or not remember any resemblance they have to events that happen after the fact."

"Selective precognizance…even better. But I'm curious what you meant about the good and bad."

Jack leaned back, his eyes still on Ianto.

"Good, she seems to be able to function fairly well in the team, at least to some degree; however, that's not saying the one in my world would. Bad," Ianto paused for a moment to consider his words. "She, from my observations, appears to be borderline xenophobic, along with similarities to the Gwen I'm familiar with in that she is bull-headed and convinced she's right regardless of her lack of knowledge or understanding in a subject."

"It's not xenophobia really; unfortunately, I made a mistake when I trained her, and now it's an uphill battle getting things right. And she doesn't trust my Ianto, but it's more because he wasn't honest with her about being a dragon. I'm not making excuses for her, if that's what you're thinking…it's just the way things are. And I admit she's close-minded, but once again we're working on that. I hope someday she's able to open her mind to the possibilities, but we'll see."

Ianto wondered if this Jack realized, or rather would realize someday, how much he indeed was making excuses and was denying what was in front of him.

"I did say 'borderline,' and I could argue that to judge another based on their species, no matter the history behind that thinking, would still constitute xenophobia, however, I believe we might have to agree to disagree."

"I can understand it might look that way to you, but then, you aren't around her every day. But even my Ianto and I don't always see eye-to-eye, so I can understand it."

Ianto laughed.

"I would be concerned if you agreed all the time. If it's any reassurance, I do hope you're right and I'm wrong, because if I'm right I fear if she has to interact with any extraterrestrial allies. But you are the captain, after all."

If this was his Jack, he would have pushed, because he knew he was right—in this, at least. But this wasn't his world and it wasn't his Jack and other than stating his opinions he had no right to try and persuade this Jack.

Instead, he raised his glass in silent salute to the captain.

Suddenly, Jack raised his hand to his comm.

"What is it, Toshiko?"

After a moment, Jack replied.

"We'll be right there."

Ianto followed his partner's alternate as they made their way to Toshiko's desk.

"It just started emitting a low-level energy and a beeping sound," Tosh said as they approached.

"Any ideas?"

"None yet, unfortunately."

Ianto walked closer to the tech, and suddenly he was once again enveloped in light.

He felt relieved he was going home, but at the same time, he was a bit sad he didn't get to say goodbye.


	28. Through the Looking Glass-Chapter Fourte

Through the Looking Glass - Chapter Fourteen

Authors: Milady Dragon and Cyberdigi

Disclaimer: We don't own this. Sorry about that

Author's note: And because there was such a delay in posting, here's another chapter as an apology.

* * *

_**Nowhere and No Time**_

When the white glare faded, Ianto found himself…well, he could only describe it as _nowhere_. It was as if he were standing in a fog bank, but without the darker forms of shadows within the fog. It was disconcerting, to say the least.

But was more disconcerting was the other _him_ standing in front of him, also looking around with interest.

"Well," the dragon said dryly, "this is interesting. You must be my counterpart."

The other Ianto glanced in his direction, his eyes widening slightly. "And you, mine. A dragon…really?"

"And you're part TARDIS."

"Indeed," the other answered. "Both are rather rare possibilities."

The dragon considered. "That makes me wonder if there are any other Iantos out there that are as unique as we are."

The TARDIS Ianto smiled knowingly. "That seemed to be a popular question among your team. The answer is some, but a good many are perfectly normal humans."

Ianto wondered how he knew that, and asked. The TARDIS Ianto chewed his lip, and then answered.

"My Mother is a TARDIS; that gives me an outlook on time that not a lot of people have." He seemed to consider his words. "Time is open to me. I can see all possibilities...at least some of the time. For lack of a better description, it's like having a vision; sometimes it's what could be and in others what will be. That also applies to the past. I can see and experience the stories of people through their artefacts. It's something I enjoy, even if I can't indulge it often."

Yes, that made sense.

He looked around some more, but the fog was just as thick as it had been when he'd arrived. "I don't seem to remember this when we were switched in the first place."

"Neither do I," the other admitted. "If I had to guess, I would say this was some sort of return switch, or a debrief area of some kind. But this does appear to be outside the normal flow of time, moving at a much accelerated rate than what we would be experiencing in our home dimensions."

The dragon wondered if he could feel that as the child of a TARDIS; there was a strange thrumming in the air, but it was different from what he could feel from the Rift, but with a certain tonal similarity. "I do hope it is, because I'd hate to think of either of our teams getting more and more worried since we haven't shown up yet."

"Agreed," his counterpart said. "But it is, although I don't have a way to measure the exact difference, and given the apparent purpose of the tech I'd say it's feasible that it's designed to appear instantaneous on the outside."

"That's good." The dragon paused, contemplating his doppelganger. "You have a good team." He'd been impressed with the other Torchwood, even with the differences he hadn't been used to.

"Thank you, you do as well," the TARDIS Ianto said. Then he rolled his eyes. "Where are my manners? Mam would box my ears! Pleased to meet you, Ianto Jones," he said, extending his hand. "I'm Ianto Jones."

The dragon chuckled, taking the hand. "It's good to meet you as well, Ianto Jones." He felt a bit ridiculous introducing himself to himself, but good manners always won out, and his mother would have done the same.

They slipped into a rather uncomfortable silence for a few moments, and then TARDIS Ianto laughed. "Well, this is a bit awkward!"

The dragon joined in. "Just a bit, yeah."

"It's like one of those team-building exercises that corporate offices do in order to get their employees to work better together."

"Not my team," the dragon rolled his eyes. "When we do team building, it usually has more to do with a lot of alcohol and karaoke. It's too bad we don't have a machine here, or a pint…"

"Mine just goes to dinner and drinks…"

"Jack just likes to get me drunk so I'll sing in public," the dragon admitted.

"He did mention something about that," TARDIS Ianto answered. "I'm just thankful that my Jack has to work very hard to get me drunk."

"Oh, of course he told you that," the dragon sighed, acting put upon. "That's Jack…trying to embarrass me even when I'm not around."

"To be fair, Jack was trying to cheer me up at the time." A shadow passed over the other Ianto's face, but was gone before the dragon could ask about it.

"That does sound like something Jack would do." The dragon was glad that his mate had been able to help his look alike; he knew how he'd felt with things being different, so he could imagine that this Ianto would have been going through something similar.

TARDIS Ianto fidgeted slightly, pressing his lips together before answering. "I have this…connection, with Mother and Jack, and both of them had disappeared. I was not handling that very well."

The dragon nodded. "I can understand that. Your universe felt…different. Not bad; just…not mine. I can sense the energy of my Rift, and the energy that keeps Jack immortal, and it was just slightly off from what I'm used to. Toshiko called it harmonic dissonance."

"That makes sense to me. Energies between dimensions would be somewhat different. And it looks like you and I have something in common: a sensitivity to temporal energy." He smiled. "Tosh was completely correct in calling it that. But it's fascinating that you can sense Jack's presence. At least he can't sneak up on you in the Archives for an afternoon quickie."

"That's half the fun!" he laughed.

"But of course! At least my Jack does enjoy surprising me, just as much as I enjoy it."

That seemed to break the ice a little, and the dragon felt himself relaxing a bit. Yes, it was still strange to be talking to himself, but at least it was a tad more comfortable.

"If I had known we could slip back so easily instead of worrying about making it home," the other went on, "I would have taken more of an opportunity to enjoy the experience of seeing another possibility first-hand."

"You may have," the dragon answered, "but I'm ready to go home."

"I can understand that," TARDIS Ianto said. "I'll be glad to get back to where I don't have to deal with Gwen on a regular basis."

The dragon cringed slightly. "Oh dear…was she bad?"

"To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't let her anywhere near an extraterrestrial ambassador. She didn't seem at all sympathetic to my plight."

"That sounds like Gwen," the dragon sighed. "And she doesn't like me anyway, so I can imagine that she wasn't on her best behaviour." He could have hoped that Gwen would have been at least a bit nicer to his counterpart than she was with him. "I accidentally injured her pride when I didn't tell her right away that I was a dragon. She has a thing about keeping secrets…as long as they aren't being kept from her. It's getting a bit better, but I do apologize for her attitude."

"Her attitude isn't your fault. And I would hate to have your team have to do intergalactic clean-up because of something she said or did. But, despite all that she's given me some food for thought…or rather her existence at least."

He didn't say that, if it had been his choice, Gwen would never have been in Torchwood in the first place. Instead, he was about to change the subject when his counterpart did it for him. "I do hope your reveal was less traumatic than mine."

"I simply changed form in front of them," the dragon said, grinning. "Toshiko never did get the chance to work out the mass ratios like she'd wanted to." TARDIS Ianto chuckled at that. "I take it my team discovered you before you could inform them?"

"Unfortunately," the other said dryly. "It isn't pleasant to have your team's doppelgangers pointing guns at you in a threatening manner."

"No, it wouldn't be. I would assume they found out through the Hub's internal sensors?" It was good to know they were working as they should, and that his Toshiko had obviously caught on to the physical differences – whatever they were – between the two Iantos.

"From what Owen said, that sounds right. Unfortunately they realised it before I could tell your Jack."

"We had someone impersonate Jack to get into the Hub," the dragon explained. "We've been security conscious ever since."

"Well, that certainly explains the zealous gun-waving."

"I would apologize for it, but I'm quite proud of them, to be honest. It means they won't have to get any extra training when I get back."

"No need for that," TARDIS Ianto waved it away. "They were on their toes, which is a good thing." He looked at the dragon closely. "Although I would have enjoyed spending more time in…I suppose you called it your hoard room?"

The dragon nodded. "It's part of dragon culture to have one. In fact, I have three, but the largest is in the Hub, since it's more secure."

"Then the legends on my world seem to have got something right, then. But I do wish I'd had more time to spend in it. The entire room was permeated with so much history! I only had time to experience one moment in time, and that was from the totems you have. It was a wonderful scene, and I would love to have seen more of it. In fact, it was what told me you were a dragon."

The dragon wondered what it was like to be able to touch history like that; to be able to see things that had long since passed into memory. He couldn't help but smile softly. "That would have been my sister's mating posts. They were carved by my father and myself, and I kept them after my sister and my family were murdered. He sighed. "And you would be right about the history; most of my hoard is very old. A large part of it came from offerings back during the time I was actually being worshipped. I don't recommend that to anyone, it's far too embarrassing a situation to find oneself in."

TARDIS Ianto laughed lightly. "Oh, if only all those who find themselves thought of as deities felt that way!" Then he sobered. "I'm sorry for your loss. I still miss my sister as well. I always knew I'd outlive her and my family, but I also knew there would always be Jack, even if we never got together as lovers. "

"And I of yours," the dragon replied, nodding his head. "That is the curse of outliving all the ones you love…except for Jack, of course."

"Very much so, and you've lived longer than I have. But at least I've always known Jack would be a part of my life. I imagine you never thought you'd be the last of your kind."

The dragon felt the familiar pain in his chest at that. "No, you're right. I never would have believed that humans would have hunted down dragon-kind and destroyed them, especially since I'd had a vision since I was a child of meeting my future mate, a blue-gray dragon. You can imagine my despair at ever meeting him then." He paused. "It took my Tosh to tell me that my dream was allegorical and that the dragon I was seeing was the exact same colour as Jack's greatcoat, so I was actually seeing him and not a real dragon. I simply had no idea that he had an ephemeral form, and not a dragon one."

TARDIS Ianto had a strangely glazed look in his eyes, as if he were seeing something within his own head. The look vanished quickly, and he said, "That must have been a bit of a shock to realise he was the dragon you were dreaming of."

He wondered if that was truly what his counterpart had meant to say, but answered the spoken question. "It was, but a pleasant one." He looked at the other being. "And you…what of your Jack? I read your journals – and I apologize for the invasion of privacy, by the way."

The other shrugged. "It's fine; after all, I 'read' the posts in your hoard. For as long as I can remember Mother would always tell me about Jack. I knew one day I would find him. If anything else Mother had intended for him to be told what had happened, but I think she secretly hoped that we would be more; that we would bond." He smiled faintly. "When I realised that I had bonded with him, I didn't know how to tell him. I had no doubt that, when we were together, that I was the only one; but he could be so distant sometimes. It wasn't until after I'd told him that I realised that he was scared I would leave him to travel the universe, leaving him alone once more."

"So we were both destined for our Jacks."

"You could say that," TARDIS Ianto answered, "but there will always be a Ianto for Jack."

"That makes me feel better, knowing there is." It did; he felt light, as if a weight he didn't know existed had been lifted from his heart. Knowing that there would always be someone for Jack, that there would be a Ianto for him, even if it was for a short time…it wasn't fair, that his mate had to be alone. He didn't deserve it. Humans weren't meant to live for eternity, and he didn't want Jack to be out there, somewhere, driven mad by his losses. He was very glad to have met this Ianto, who could reassure him that Jack could be happy in other dimensions as well.

"It is reassuring that Jack will always have someone to love him as much as we do."

"You're right," the dragon agreed. "Jack deserves happiness, after everything he's been through."

"You'll get no argument from me on that," the other answered.

"I am glad to have met you, Mr. Jones."

TARDIS Ianto smiled, his eyes crinkling up at the corners. "As am I, Mr. Jones. I get the feeling that, if we had more time together, we could have been great friends."

"You know, so do I."

There was a strange glow, and Ianto looked behind his counterpart. A portal had appeared, breaking through the fog like the rising sun.

"I believe that's our cue," TARDIS Ianto said, his own gaze looking beyond the dragon.

"I believe you're right." The dragon stepped forward, until he was standing right beside his counterpart. "Be well, and be happy."

"You as well." The other moved past.

The dragon had just reached his portal when the TARDIS Ianto called out to him. He turned to see the other also at his portal, staring back at the dragon. "One day your stars will dance to the magic of ancient songs." His gaze softened, and he smiled. "It was a pleasure. Please tell your team goodbye for me, and it was good to meet them." With that, he stepped through.

The dragon wondered at those parting words, but he followed suit, and white light flared around him once more, taking him home.


	29. Through the Looking Glass - Epilogue One

Through the Looking Glass - Epilogue (TARDIS Ianto)

Authors: Cyberdigi and Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Not ours, unfortunately

Author's note: Here is the first part of the epilogue for this story. We'd like to thank everyone who has read, and commented on this part, it's been a blast to collaborate on this.

Thanks again!

* * *

Ianto was bathed in blinding light once again, and even though he had stepped through the doorway, he felt himself standing still while at the same time, moving.

Much like the first time.

Except this time, when he opened his eyes, he was _home_.

He didn't even need to look; the emptiness that had resided in his head during this whole ordeal was gone, filled with his Mother and Jack.

"Ianto?" Jack asked hesitantly.

Ianto didn't even bother answering; he just launched himself at Jack, holding onto his partner as if at any moment he could be ripped away again. As he touched Jack, he felt the knot of tightness in his chest ease.

"I'm back, love," Ianto said before he brought their lips together.

After several minutes they separated—or rather, just quit kissing, as they were still glued together in an embrace—Ianto tucking his face into Jack's neck, Jack's hand coming up to cradle the crown of his head.

"Glad to have you back, Tea Boy. Harkness, could you release him long enough for me to examine our dimension-hopper here?"

Ianto pulled Jack tighter as he felt Jack start to loosen his grip.

Owen let out an exasperated sigh.

"Or he can come with us while I examine you and _then_ you two can go off and do whatever it is you do when you're alone and I don't want to know about."

Tosh giggled and Jack looked up at her.

"Tosh, continue scanning the device; I want to know everything about it, so we aren't caught unawares by it again. And make sure to mark it as active," Jack said, Ianto taking half a step away so that they could start to make their way to the medical area.

"I'll get right on it, Jack," she said before turning to Ianto. "I'm glad we were able to get you back so easily."

She made her way over to them, squeezed between the two men, and hugged Ianto, before turning back to the device.

"This way, gentlemen, and be quick about it; I don't have all day, you know," Owen said, motioning the pair to follow him.

* * *

After Owen's exam, Ianto listened in a daze, still tucked into Jack's side, as his partner directed their team in a last few instructions for the night.

It seemed he blinked and then they were in the elevator on the way up to their flat. He did not even remember leaving the Hub.

He felt drained and…disconnected.

It was with tired surprise that he felt Jack sitting them on their couch. Jack knelt in front of him, hands on either side of his face, gently caressing him with his thumbs.

"I'll just grab some food from the kitchen, it's about dinner time after all, and I'm sure you missed your mid-afternoon meal."

Ianto just blinked at him.

"Hey, you alright?"

Ianto closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to center himself.

"I just feel drained, and a bit disconcerted. It was stressful finding myself so alone, not connected to you or Mother, and unsure how or how long it would take to get home, knowing that the longer it took the more at risk I was in by not being connected to my partner. Finally being home and reconnected—it's like all that just drained out of me, leaving me tired. But having those connections cut, then reestablished, and going between universes unexpectedly...I just feel a bit like the world just spun in the other direction and I wasn't prepared. I'm sorry I've been so…clingy, it's a bit like being given unlimited water after being in the desert; you just want to drink forever; or rather in this case hold on. I just need you, some food, rest, and you."

Ianto paused before adding. "Sex after the resting part, though."

Jack laughed and leaned up, bringing their foreheads together.

"I think I can take care of that, and tomorrow you can debrief."

Jack brought their lips together. They stayed like that for a moment, soaking each other up, before Jack pulled away to go grab some food.


	30. Through the Looking Glass - Epilogue Two

Through the Looking Glass - Epilogue (Dragon Ianto)  


Authors: Milady Dragon and Cyberdigi

Disclaimer: Not ours, even though we wish it were.

Author's note: And here is the second part of the epilogue to this particular story. Once again I'd just like to say it was so much fun to work on this with Cyberdigi, and I know she thinks the same. Thank you everyone!

Next up...the Dragon-Verse version of "Sleeper". Stay tuned!

* * *

_**28 June 2008**_

The whiteness vanished, and Ianto found himself in the familiar surroundings of the Hub.

But was it _his_ Hub?

The dragon's doubt didn't last as he felt the tingle of the Rift around him; it wasn't the slightly off sensation from the alternate dimension, but the pure tingle of his home.

And the arms that wrapped around him were accompanied by the soothing scratch at the back of his mind that only his Jack could have.

He put his own arms around his mate, burying his face in Jack's neck, reveling in the closeness. He'd missed this…oh, how he'd missed this.

"Welcome back," Jack whispered against his temple. Then he pulled away, a frown marring his features. "You _are_ my Ianto, aren't you?"

Ianto let his eyes fade into their dragon aspect. "What do you think?"

The smile that graced Jack's face threatened the stability of his ears. He pulled Ianto forward, crashing his lips against the dragon's and Ianto couldn't help the moan that escaped him. It wasn't by far a perfect kiss, but it reconnected them in ways that Ianto couldn't begin to explain.

"Lips off the Dragon Boy, Harkness," Owen's voice brought Ianto's attention back to the outside world. "We know you're happy to see him, but I wanna check him over and make sure he's okay from his jaunt to another dimension. You wouldn't want anything important to fall off or something? Like his coffee-making fingers?"

Ianto pulled back and offered the medic a sardonic grin. "Yes, because gods and goddesses forbid you not get your coffee."

"Absolutely. Now, into my office ASAP." With those parting words, Owen headed down into the autopsy bay, as if fully expecting Ianto to follow.

With a sigh, the dragon stepped out of Jack's arms. "I'd better go and get this over with. Then we can get to the debriefing…and then go home."

"Sounds like a plan," Jack agreed. He waved the dragon on. "Go on then, before I lose my will to watch you walk away."

Ianto turned, but didn't get very far when he found himself in another fierce hug, this one given by Toshiko. "You're not allowed to go dimension hopping ever again," she murmured into his chest as he returned the embrace.

"I'll try not to," he promised as he returned her embrace, not commenting that it hadn't been his fault this time.

That honour was reserved for the last member of the team, who was standing off from the others, her arms crossed over her chest and looking as if she'd swallowed something sour. The dragon wondered if she realized just how isolated she was from everyone else, but refused to feel bad for her. This was what Gwen had chosen, and it would be up to her to get closer to the people she had to trust her life to.

"I should let Owen poke and prod me," he laughed, letting go of his friend. "You know he's never happier when he's pretending to be a doctor."

"Oi, I heard that!" Owen's voice shouted up from the autopsy bay. "Get your arse down here, Dragon Boy, or I'm gonna quarantine you to the Hub tonight!' Then see if Harkness gets any!"

Ianto made his way to the steps going down into the recessed bay. "And you don't think you're punishing just Jack in that?" he asked, removing his jacket in preparation for the exam he knew Owen would put him through.

"You're right," the medic declared, messing with his instruments. "A deprived Harkness isn't anyone I want to work with. Hop up, Ianto, and let's get this over with."

Ianto did so, inwardly glad to be back but giving Owen a look of disdain.

* * *

They met in the boardroom over coffees, and Ianto gave them a report on what had happened in the alternate dimension he'd found himself in. He left some things out, mostly to do with Gwen and Rhys, since he had no idea just how much detail the TARDIS Ianto had gone into, and he didn't want to get Gwen started on a rant about what Ianto had heard about her double.

It was amazing knowing that he'd travelled to another place where there were counterparts to the people he cared about. It had been the same, and yet so very different, and while he was glad to be back he could see TARDIS Ianto's point about discovering more about the changes from what Ianto knew.

A part of him was going to miss that other team, but he was truly happy to be home. The Rift – his Rift, not the vaguely discordant one that he'd been sensing for hours – thrummed against his skin like a gentle rain, and he wanted nothing more than to bask in it for a while. Also, the familiar sensation of the vortex within Jack tickled and scratched at the back of his mind, and Ianto couldn't help but feel relieved that the technology had been able to get him back to where he belonged.

"And my doppelganger says goodbye," he finished. "I don't think he got the chance."

"It's fantastic knowing that there are so many various permutations of ourselves spread across the dimensions," Jack mused once Ianto was done. He took a sip of the coffee Ianto had made before the meeting had started, smiling softly afterward.

"I'd really like to study that transporter," Toshiko said. "Whatever race had created it must have been able to contact their doppelgangers across the dimensional field, to have been able to make such switches like that."

"I don't know," Ianto answered. "The walls between dimensions were shut for a reason. I'd hate to be the ones to accidentally tear them down again."

"Ianto's right," Jack said. "We don't know if travelling between dimensions could do damage. There's only one Time Lord out there now to clean up the mess and I honestly have no desire to call the Doctor for any reason whatsoever."

Ianto could certainly understand that, and judging from the expressions on Toshiko's and Owen's faces, they were remembering what the dragon was, about the Year of the Toclafane and how the Doctor had chosen the Master over the Earth.

"But he's the one you left us for," Gwen argued. "Why wouldn't you want to call him?"

Jack sighed. "Because he and I didn't part on good terms and that's all I'm going to say on the subject, so don't even think about asking."

Gwen didn't look happy, but she didn't pursue it, for which Ianto was very grateful. He wasn't in the mood to listen to one of her lectures about keeping secrets again.

"Toshiko," Jack ordered, "I want that box locked in the Secure Archives. Maybe someday we can take it out and study it again, but for now I just don't want to risk losing anyone else to another dimension."

The technician nodded, although she looked disappointed.

Jack turned to Owen. "And how's Ianto?"

"Same old Dragon Boy," Owen answered. "Going to another dimension didn't do anything to him, and he didn't carry anything hazardous back with him."

Jack looked relieved at that. "Good, thank you." His eyes fell on Gwen. "We didn't get a chance to discuss what you did wrong on the retrieval today, but Gwen…you know better than to pick up alien technology bare-handed, let alone pushing any buttons. Didn't the ghost machine teach you anything about what could happen when you do something like that?"

"I wasn't the only one to use the ghost machine," Gwen retorted.

"Yes, but Owen realised he'd made a mistake and owned up to it."

"Too right," the medic shivered. "I still have the occasional nightmare about poor Lizzie."

"Gwen," Ianto said, "you've been with Torchwood for a little over nine months now. You have the makings of an excellent field agent, if you could only curtail your reckless behaviour. We all screw up, but we need to be aware that, when we do, there could be dire consequences. You don't seem to have come to that realization yet."

"But it turned out all right in the end," Gwen argued. "No one was hurt."

"What about the next time?" Jack asked. "What about the next piece of alien tech we get through here that's not relatively benign? Will we lose all of Cardiff? You need to be careful when you start poking around unknown devices."

"I certainly don't want to be on the wrong end of any more button-pushing," Owen snarked. "God knows what might come out of the next weird piece of shit…it could be your double, and then we'd have to deal with two Gwen Coopers around here. That would be the apocalypse."

Gwen went red in the face, and Ianto had to hide his laughter behind a cough. He remembered what the other team had said about their version of Gwen Cooper, and was glad he hadn't met her.

"Owen," Jack called him down.

Owen held up his hands in surrender. "Just saying, Jack…"

"Well, don't." Jack straightened up in his chair. "Ianto has a point, Gwen; you've been here nearly a year, and you don't have even this basic safety rule ingrained yet. It took Ianto and I two weeks to train up Toshiko before she was ready for basic field work, and with Owen it took a month. It's not that difficult to understand."

"Well, I'm not Toshiko or Owen!"

"That's patently true. But Gwen, we can't keep holding your hand. From the reports Ianto made while I was gone, it seemed as if you'd finally come into your own. He'd certified you as a field agent and had actually praised your work. But I'm not seeing that Gwen here. It's like you've backslid ever since I returned, and it needs to stop, or else I'll have no choice but to put you on permanent Hub duty."

"You can't!" Gwen exclaimed hotly. "You need me!"

"You keep assuming that," Jack snorted. "I may have thought that in the beginning, but that's certainly changed in the time you've come to work here and I've had a chance to see you in action. Trust me Gwen…you're not above anyone else on this team. If it had been Toshiko or Owen making the same mistakes over and over again, and not paying attention to the lessons we've been trying to teach you, I would be doing the exact same thing."

"I see you didn't mention Ianto in there," the ex-copper snapped.

Jack rolled his eyes. "Of course I didn't, because Ianto helped me come up with the very procedures you're supposed to be following."

Gwen opened her mouth to reply, but Ianto suddenly knew exactly what she was going to bring up and cut her off. "As I said, we all make mistakes, even me. No one is above the rules here…not me, and not Jack. When I do mess up, I accept the consequences, just as Jack, Toshiko, and Owen do. You need to learn the same thing."

Jack put a hand up to forestall any further argument. "I hadn't intended to get into a slinging match over this, and I'm going to stop it now. Gwen, we'll continue to monitor your progress, but if I don't see you back up to the level that Ianto's reports have you at, then you will be confined to the Hub during missions. I know I usually do reprimands in private, but I wanted the others to witness this as well, so they also know what's going on, to avoid any confusion. Because it won't just be me and Ianto watching…it will be Toshiko and Owen too, mainly because I don't want any sort of 'he-said, she-said' going on. I don't want to demote you, but I will if you do anything like that again. Do we understand each other?"

Gwen nodded, and Ianto could tell just how furious she was by the clenching in her teeth.

"Now," Jack went on, "it's been a long day, and I know we'd all like to relax a bit. Let's shut this place down and take the night off."

Ianto read between the lines of that, '_I want to get my mate home and make certain he's really here.'_

The dragon was perfectly fine with that. He wanted nothing more than to spend time with his mate, and reaffirm that this was his Jack. He _needed_ to make sure he was truly home, even though the familiarity of the surroundings and of his connection to Jack made that certain.

He was back where he belonged.


	31. To Be Human - Chapter One

To Be Human - Chapter One  


Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: Don't own it, sorry.

Author's note: Here it is, the first chapter of To Be Human, the Dragon-Verse version of "Sleeper". Hope you enjoy!

* * *

_**28 June 2008**_

Jack curled up against his dragon, glad that Ianto was back where he belonged.

There wasn't much of a moon, but the glare from the street lights outside gave enough light for Jack to see by…when he wasn't dozing against the warm flank of his mate, after the last several hours of welcoming Ianto home. The stress of having his mate exchanged for another version of Ianto Jones had been getting to him, and Jack had needed that reconnection to his mate that being intimate had brought.

He could tell that Ianto felt the same way. The dragon's eyes were closed, and his steady breathing lulled Jack even deeper into rest.

Eventually, Jack knew he'd have to get up to arm the alarm system and to turn off the lights they'd left on downstairs in their rush to get to the loft – they hadn't even made it that far for round one – but for now he was content to stay where he was, luxuriating in the heat of his mate. Jack couldn't see himself ever getting tired of just being like this, with Ianto tucked around him almost protectively, the silky sharpness of dragons' scale against his back and side like the finest armour…and the softest cloth. It was a contradiction, the way they felt, but it was the closest Jack could come to describing the sensation.

There would always be a part of him that would wish that, some day, he would find a way to be with Ianto as a dragon, like the dreams that the Great Dragons had sent them. But Jack knew that wouldn't be possible, even with all the magic in the world…and there was a niggling bit of him that still didn't want to believe in magic, that thought everything he'd seen could be described by advanced enough science. He didn't know where this disbelieving part of him came from, but it was there, and Jack couldn't deny it.

Maybe one day he'd come to embrace magic, but for now Jack didn't see how.

He stopped worrying about it, and tucked up closer to the dragon, letting the contented grin he couldn't stop curl across his face.

Jack had no idea how long he lay there, but he was rudely pulled from his rest by the sharp ring of the door bell.

The dragon body next to his jumped slightly, seemingly as startled as Jack had been. "Who is that, at this time of night?" he grumbled, raising his large head.

"It better be good," Jack answered, getting up. His clothes were all scattered about downstairs, so he headed toward the stairs still naked. "I'll get it."

"Fine, but hurry back." The dragon shifted once more, settling back into place in their nest.

Jack collected his shirt from the stairway, and his trousers from the back of the sofa, as he made his way toward the door. He did fasten his fly, but didn't bother with his shirt as he pulled the front door open. "Owen," he said, surprised at the medic's appearance at their door at…he glanced at the clock on the mantel, and saw that it was after eleven.

"Thank God you came to the door halfway dressed," Owen responded. He looked nervous, which was completely out of character for him.

"If I'd known it was you I would have done without the shirt." He couldn't help but tease the man, even though Jack was concerned as to the reason why Owen would be there this late.

Owen rolled his eyes. "I've seen it, and I'm not impressed." He sighed, running his hands through his hair. "Can I come in? I know it's late but I really need to talk to you and Ianto about something."

Jack's concern grew. He stepped aside, letting the medic enter. Owen automatically removed his shoes at the mat; apparently he'd been on the receiving end of one of Ianto's lectures about messing up the carpet. "It's fine," Jack assured him, "we weren't asleep. And you didn't interrupt anything else, in case you were wondering."

"I wasn't, but that's a good thing. I was gonna wait until tomorrow, but I took the chance when I saw the lights still on."

"C'mon up." Jack started up the stairs, Owen following. He was very curious as to what would have brought Owen there at that time of night. It must have been something bothering him, when Jack had thought he'd have been home or at the nearest pub. "It's Owen," he called up, in order to warn the dragon that he wasn't alone.

"I heard," came the answer. "Tell him he has to wait until usual business hours for his coffee."

"Blow it out your arse, Dragon Boy," Owen snarked back, raising his voice in order to be heard. Jack could tell that the banter had relaxed his friend just from the tone of his voice.

Ianto hadn't changed back to human form, but he was awake and watchful as Jack and Owen entered the loft. His blue cats' eyes were curious as they tracked Owen across the room, where the medic grabbed the nearest chair and dragged it over to the nest area. Jack took his usual spot, leaning against the dragon's side, and for Owen's peace of mind he kept his clothes on. "What can we do for you?" he asked, putting on his best boss' expression.

Owen sighed. "I probably could have waited until morning, but I thought you both might want to know about something I overheard today, when we had that other version of Ianto around. It concerns Gwen and something she said to him."

Jack should have guessed. While he hadn't seen Gwen actually approach their guest, it should have occurred to him that she would have. Damn it, he should have kept a closer eye on their visitor…

The dragon's slitted eyes narrowed. "Please tell me she didn't do what I'm thinking she did."

"If you mean did she go off on him? Pretty much, yeah."

"Oh goddess," Jack sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I really should have expected something like that." He should have kept Gwen well away from the other Ianto.

"What exactly did she say?" Ianto asked.

"She basically accused him of doing something to fool the rest of us to get us to trust him," Owen reported. "Then she said that all Iantos are inhuman and can't be trusted."

"When did this happen?" Jack demanded. He was thoroughly pissed off at himself for not doing more to have kept them apart.

"Right after lunch. I'm sorry I didn't bring it up before, but the other Ianto seemed to handle her just fine. But then you called her out in front of us all about pushing that damned button and I knew I had to say something. I was going to wait for morning, but I got to thinking about it and realised I wanted to get it off my chest as soon as I could." He looked contrite, and Jack couldn't hold it against him for not speaking up sooner.

He waved off the apology. "You're telling us now, that's the important thing. What else did she say?"

Owen grimaced. "She claimed that the other Ianto had corrupted Rhys and that it was obvious her doppelganger must have seen through it, that she must have shown Jack real love and that's why she wasn't in that version of Torchwood."

Jack actually shivered. "I may just have nightmares about that."

"You and me both," Ianto mirrored his shiver. "From what I learned in the other universe, the reason Gwen wasn't in that version of Torchwood was because of certain…delusions she had. Also, she was slightly precognizant, which led her to cross the other team's path more than luck would do. "

"Bloody hell," Owen swore. "I can also guess what she was delusional about." He met Jack's eyes, and there was something very knowing in them that had him feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"That's pretty much what the other version of Ianto told me," Jack said, clearing his throat. "And yes, I know what I've done to encourage her, but that's been over for a long time now. It's not my fault she won't take 'no' for an answer or that she won't accept that she's simply a member of the team and not irreplaceable."

"Yeah, well, I haven't been any better," Owen admitted. "I wish I'd never slept with her. Hell, I'm not even sure why I did; it just seemed like a good idea at the time. And I won't lie…she was good in the sack. But it wasn't worth finding out that little fact. And, when I found out she actually Retconned Rhys in order to confess it…fuck," he raked a hand through his hair. "She even came to me, wanting to get back into bed with me after you left, Jack. I turned her down flat. Two weeks later she showed up wearing Rhys' engagement ring. Sorry sod. He has no idea what he's getting himself in to."

Jack agreed. He would always have regrets over hiring Gwen, but they were stuck with her now. Certainly, he could always Retcon her, and get the dosage right this time, but there was still that stubborn part of him that wanted to keep her around, to help her succeed in becoming the operative that he'd believed she could be. His hiring of her might have been for the wrong reasons, but when he'd read Ianto's reports of the time he'd been away with the Doctor he'd seen that side of Gwen Cooper he'd always suspected was there. Unfortunately, she'd fallen right back into bad habits after he'd come back, and he really didn't want to examine the reasons for _that_.

"I just don't understand her," the dragon said, resting his head on his crossed paws. "I don't suppose I ever will."

"It's almost as if she has selective compassion," Jack added. "Like she thinks some people deserve it, and others don't…and her selection process is entirely random."

"Well, we know she doesn't like me because I damaged her pride and lied to her," Ianto went on. "She's selective about secrets, too."

"Yeah, when she's not the one who's keeping them," Owen put in. "And there was no reason for her to accuse that other Ianto of what she did. She had no idea what was going on in that other dimension…apart for Rhys being in Torchwood and not her. Which, seems to me, the bloke must have the patience of a saint to put up with her."

"I've been considering Rhys Williams," Ianto pondered. "I think, perhaps, it's time for me to meet him."

Jack looked at his mate closely. "To recruit?"

"Not necessarily. But I think I'd like to get to know this man. Perhaps we've been underestimating him. And, letting Gwen have someone outside of Torchwood who she could confide in might not be a bad idea. After all, Toshiko has Kathy, and Owen, you have Diane…"

"I don't really tell her much, though," Owen denied. "I know you've given me permission, because of what she already knows, but there's this part of me that doesn't want her to know exactly what we get up to. I…want to protect her, even though I know she could kick my arse six ways from Sunday."

"Yeah, you better not tell her that," Jack said, barely hiding his smile. It seemed that Diane Holmes – now known as Sally-Ann Hope – was still such a good influence over their irascible doctor. "She wouldn't like to know you were coddling her."

"God, I'd never hear the end of it!"

Ianto chuckled. "Speaking of Diane…we saw your request for time off. Were you planning on going to visit her?"

Owen nodded. "I thought I might. That is, if you both approve a whole week off."

"We will," Jack said. "You deserve it. Ianto and I got the chance to recuperate after that Year, but you and Toshiko didn't."

"We plan on giving you the week off after Toshiko gets back," Ianto added. "We've already approved hers, for the week around the time we revive Tommy."

"That makes sense," Owen agreed. "We all know Tommy has a thing for Tosh, and now that she's with Kathy it might get more than a little bit awkward."

"That's what we thought as well. It's going to be difficult enough with Jack and I, and we don't want to put her through that as well."

"Yeah, they had some really screwed up ideas back then. He could freak out if he knew you two were together. Hell, he doesn't even know Ianto is really a dragon. Let's just mentally scar the kid all the way around then."

"We'd rather not." Jack hadn't forgotten that they hadn't clued Tommy in on Ianto's true nature, but it was more out of the need not to share too much of the future with him than anything else. Besides, when he eventually did go back to his own time, the more sense he made to the people in charge at the time the better. It wouldn't look at all good if he went back only to get committed to a sanatorium. They'd been terrible places back then, and it would almost be better if Tommy got sent back to action than into an asylum. At least he'd have a fighting chance in a warzone.

"Let me know your plans," Ianto said, "and I can go through the Tourism Board to get you some flight discounts. I might also manage to get you first class seating for coach rates."

"I knew you were good for something, Dragon Boy," Owen went back into default snark mode, which was a sure sign he'd been serious long enough.

"So you love me for more than my coffee then," the dragon commented dryly.

"Damn, keep that love shit confined to Harkness. You are so not my type."

"This is a good thing," Jack joined in on the teasing, "because the dragon is mine and no one else's. And I don't share."

"Good, cause I don't want any!" Owen looked nearly green.

"Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Owen," Jack said, thinking it was time to bring this to a close. He wanted to discuss things with Ianto, and it was getting late.

"Like I said, I was gonna wait, but it didn't feel right to." Owen stood, obviously hearing the dismissal in Jack's tone. "I'll just let myself out and turn the lights off, unless you wanna arm the alarm after I go?"

"We can do that from up here," Ianto answered. "Safe trip home, Owen."

"Yeah, thanks. I haven't had that much to drink though. Besides, if I get pulled over I can always harass Tosh, get her girlfriend to take care of the charge for me." He grinned unrepentantly. "And this is why it's a good idea to have a friend dating a copper."

Ianto rolled his eyes. "Good night, Owen."

"Yeah, see you both in the morning." With those parting words, the medic headed back down the stairs, and moments later Jack heard the front door shut.

He stood up and used the panel on the wall by the landing and turned the alarm on for the night. Then he removed his clothes once more and sat down beside Ianto. "I really should have kept a closer eye on Gwen when your counterpart was here," he said wearily, practically burrowing into the dragon's side.

"It's no one's fault, Jack," Ianto rumbled softly. "Besides, Owen said that he seemed to handle her all right." He sighed, his chest lifting Jack and then settling back down. "Perhaps we should listen to what he has said to us about her. After all, he was an outsider, and would see more than we would."

"You might be right. As for now, though, we'll watch her."

"I don't understand why she would be such a good field agent while you were gone, and then fall back into such bad habits when you came back."

"Only Gwen knows what her motivations are." Although Jack could guess, but chances were he'd be wrong. "If things don't improve, then it's Hub duty."

"And in the meantime, I should like to talk to Rhys, if just to feel him out about letting him in on Torchwood. Because I get the distinct feeling we'll hear about it when Gwen realises that everyone inside of Torchwood has someone to talk to outside, and she doesn't."

Jack flinched. "You're right. I just hate to break Torchwood's secrecy over someone who might blow it all with a single word. Kathy I trust, and Diane's been through what we do…"

"I understand, Jack. But you know this is the right thing to do, if only to settle Gwen down."

The thing was, Jack _did_ know. He'd been so adamant about no one outside knowing about Torchwood, that this felt like he was betraying a principle. But Ianto was correct: Toshiko and Owen both had someone they could talk to, albeit in somewhat broad terms. Hell, he'd tried to recruit Kathy so many times as it was, and the detective had been through that Year. They had a bond that no one else could even understand.

No, Ianto was on the right track. If this Rhys was anything like the Rhys Williams was from the TARDIS version's dimension, then it was obvious he would handle Torchwood just fine.

"Let's get some sleep," Jack said. "I get the feeling we're going to have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

Little did Jack know how much truth was in that statement…


	32. To Be Human - Chapter Two

To Be Human - Chapter Two  


Author: Milady Dragon

Disclaimer: I don't own this, sorry.

Author's note: Here we go! The second chapter of the Dragon-Verse version of "Sleeper". Thanks for the great comments and for alerting this, I appreciate you all.

* * *

_**29 June 2008**_

Ianto stifled a yawn as Jack pulled the SUV up as close to the scene of crime as he could, but with all the emergency vehicles in the way that was easier said than done.

It wasn't how Ianto had wanted to spend his night, not after yesterday. But the early morning call from Andy Davidson had he and Jack calling both Owen and Toshiko out – and Kathy hadn't sounded happy in the background when Ianto had phoned – in order to check out with the PC had thought would warrant Torchwood's attention.

At least it wasn't a Rift alert. The dragon would have felt that. No, this was something else, and Ianto was hoping they could debunk it so the four of them could go back to their homes. Not that he really held out all that much hope for it.

Once in the SUV Toshiko had hacked into CRIMINT and had pulled what details she could about the call-out. Two in-custody males; one dead, the other in critical condition after falling from a fifth-floor window and onto a police car. It had apparently been an attempted burglary, and from what the technician had been able to determine the owners of the flat – Mike and Beth Halloran – were both at hospital, although the wife had not been obviously injured.

It had apparently been the nature of the thieves' injuries that had tripped PC Andy's spooky do radar from what Toshiko could interpret. Plus, there had been a very bizarre-sounding 999 call that had began quite normally with the wife calling in the intrusion. Toshiko managed to pull the recording, and the screams had caused a shiver to race down Ianto's spine.

The road of flats that Jack had pulled into was wall-to-wall pandas and ambulances. The building that they were parked in front of looked plain and unassuming…except for the shattered fifth-floor window. Ianto climbed out of the front passenger seat, just behind Jack who, with his usual energy, had practically exited the vehicle before pulling the parking brake and turning the engine off. Owen and Toshiko followed, but it was obvious when Owen had noticed the first victim, splayed across the windscreen and bonnet of a partially-damaged police vehicle, just from the cursing alone.

The medic darted around Ianto, making a beeline for the injured man, his bag already off his shoulder. "Bloody hell!" He motioned to a bobby awkwardly holding an IV bag, the line having already been inserted. "Has he been stabilized?"

The copper nodded, and Owen began his own examination. Ianto could smell the coppery tang of blood and stepped aside to let Owen work, knowing that the man's chances had improved now that their own medic was on the case. Yes, he and Owen sniped at each other, but the dragon respected the hell out of him.

"Owen," Jack ordered, in full captain mode, "go with him to the hospital. See if he's able to tell us anything. While you're there, check on the husband and wife and get their stories."

"You got it."

"Ianto," Jack continued, "why don't you go and sweet talk the local constabulary while Tosh and I check out the scene."

Ianto nodded, peeling off from the team. He watched as Jack and Toshiko headed into the building, then turned to locate the reason they'd been pulled out of their beds in the middle of the night.

Andy Davidson stood at one of the barricades, and the dragon strode toward him, smiling as the PC noticed him approaching. "PC Davidson," Ianto greeted.

"Mr. Jones." Andy returned the smile. Ianto hadn't really been familiar with the constable before Gwen had joined Torchwood, and Kathy had nothing but good things to say about the young man.

"I hear congratulations are in order."

Andy looked surprised. "What do you mean?"

"I understand you've taken the detective's exam."

He looked confused for a second, and then nodded. "DI Swanson tell you, then?"

"She did." Ianto didn't add that Kathy was hoping to be assigned as Andy's training officer, she was that impressed by him. She'd confided that she really hadn't paid much attention to the PC until after Gwen's leaving, but then she'd seen just what a good investigator he was. Of course, Kathy had confessed that it was because of Gwen that she hadn't really gotten to know Andy, and she felt somewhat guilty for it. She'd come to feel that Andy would be an excellent detective, now that he was out of the brash Gwen Cooper's shadow.

"Yeah, well we'll see. There'll be a lot of training involved, but it's something I want to do." Andy looked at him sideways. "You don't happen to know something I don't, do you?"

Ianto chuckled. "I assure you, Constable, that I'm as in the dark as you about the outcome of the test." He glanced up at the building. "Can you tell me why you though an attempted home invasion is something Torchwood would be interested in?" He'd caught what had been in the CRIMINT report, but wanted to get it from the horse's mouth, so to speak.

"I'll trade information for coffee."

The dragon shook his head in amusement. "Why did I think you would say that?"

"It doesn't take a detective to notice the flask you're carrying, does it?"

Ianto thought he really needed to get to know Andy Davidson better. The man had a sense of humour that the dragon could understand. "Very well," he answered, unscrewing the cap of the insulated flask he'd brought with him just for this purpose…minus the Retcon, of course. That particular flask was still in the SUV, just in case. "With those superior observational skills, you'll be a detective in no time at all."

Andy smirked as he accepted the flask's lid, filled with hot coffee. He took a sip, and sighed. "Are there any openings in Torchwood? 'Cause I'd come to work for Himself if it meant getting coffee like this all the time."

"Information, please," Ianto answered mildly. He wondered if the constable had what it took to work for Torchwood, and thought to bring it up to Jack. Perhaps it was time to start expanding the team…

"Yeah, business before pleasure." Andy took a sip, looking as if he were gathering his thoughts. "We got a call from the wife, about burglars in the house. Me and my partner were called out, and what we found…one victim, dead of multiple stab wounds, but there wasn't a knife anywhere in the room. The only weapon we found was a cricket bat on the floor."

He took another drink of coffee. "Then there was the bloke who got thrown through the window. Now, the husband was unconscious and the wife was cowering in the corner, in shock and covered in blood. There was no way she could've tossed anyone out of the window, 'cause I doubt she weighs any more than your Japanese friend."

"When your life is in danger, you'd be surprised what someone could do."

"Nah, I've seen too much on this job. And, believe me, no matter how scared she was, Mrs. Halloran just isn't capable of that sort of thing. Plus, she says she didn't do it, and I believe her."

Ianto could feel his curiosity building. "Sounds like the classic 'locked room' murder."

Andy nodded. "None of the neighbors heard or saw anything…no big surprise, there. Oh, and then after the fact we were told about the creepiness of the call the wife placed to the police." He shuddered dramatically. "Apparently the only voices screaming on the thing were male."

"It had to have been either the husband or wife," Ianto pointed out logically. Of course, in his line of work it could have been anything _but_ that, but he was curious about how Andy would answer.

"Yeah, maybe. But I don't buy it. There's too much weirdness in this for that, which is why I called you in. Something about the scene just screamed 'spooky do' at me and I've learned not to ignore my instincts."

Ianto thought that Andy would make an excellent detective, especially in a place as spatially and temporally unstable as Cardiff. It seemed he had a good intuition for the job. "Well, we'll certainly take a look at the scene and let you know."

He could hear Jack suddenly chattering in his ear, and he didn't react. _"Yeah, this is really strange," _his mate said. _"Even if this wasn't one of ours, I'd still want to know what happened in this flat. Tell your friend out there that we'll be taking over."_

Ianto poured Andy a little more coffee. "Looks like we're going to be investigating this ourselves."

"One of those talky things in your ear, huh? Well, I'm not surprised, since you blokes have some of the best toys." Andy drained the small cup and handed it back. "I'll let the lead detective on site know. Oh, and thanks for not stomping in and just taking over like the Captain usually does. We poor working sods appreciate the courtesy…and the coffee, of course." With a nod, Andy walked away in order to find the officer in charge.

Ianto sensed Jack getting closer, and he turned in time to see his mate and Toshiko exiting the building. The dragon headed over to join them. Jack was looking somewhat pensive. "There was nothing in that room to tell us anything," he groused.

"Except for the lack of murder weapon and a lot of blood," Toshiko corrected. "And the window had definitely been broken outward, so that burglar had gone through it with a bit of force."

"Andy says that the wife isn't physically imposing," Ianto reported, "and doubts she has it in her to toss someone bigger than her through plate glass."

Jack touched the comm. in his ear. "Owen, anything?"

"_I've left the burglar with the trauma people, they're best to handle his injuries," _the medic answered. _"I'm gonna see about the husband and I'll get back with you as soon as I have anything."_

"Keep us informed." Jack toggled off his comm. "Okay, we have a bit of a mystery on our hands. Ianto, I want everything you can dig up on the happy couple, as well as the would-be thieves. I want to know if the Hallorans were targeted for some reason, or if this was just random. Toshiko, you go over the readings you got from the flat. See if there's anything weird up there that might give us some sort of idea as to what happened."

"There were some odd electromagnetic signatures," the technician mused. "I don't know what it means yet, but I'll get on that when we get back to the Hub."

"I hate to say this," the dragon said, somewhat delicately, "but Gwen might be the best person to talk to the Hallorans. She can put her so-called compassion to good use." He let just a hint of his natural sarcasm leak through. "Owen has the bedside manner of a Weevil in heat."

Jack frowned. Just after the original phone call they'd received back at the house, he'd asked Jack if he'd wanted to call Gwen in as well, but his mate had said no, still irritated by what Owen had told them earlier in the evening. And, while Ianto might not have thought much about the way she was prone to treating her teammates, Gwen did have a certain rapport with normal people, and Jack had to concede that, even though the dragon knew his mate really didn't want to.

Finally, Jack sighed. "You're right. Gwen would be the best person to interview the husband and wife. I'll call her in and send her to the hospital. But I'm going to warn Owen to keep an eye on her. The moment she shows any of sort of condescending behaviour, she goes on Hub duty. I'm on my last nerve with her."

Toshiko was looking at both Ianto and Jack, her face curious and concerned at the same time. "Has something happened?" she asked.

Jack ran his hand through his hair, tugging at the strands in frustration. "You could say that, yes. It turns out she had a confrontation with the other-dimensional Ianto, and Owen witnessed it."

"Thank God he did," she replied. "But why? The other Ianto was nice. He was different from our Ianto, but not so much that you could hold it against him. He was in a place that was confusing to him. He didn't need to be confronted by anyone, let alone Gwen."

This is one of the many reasons Ianto loved Toshiko. While she had a very healthy skepticism concerning the unknown, once a person proved themselves to her, she accepted them. Certainly it had gotten her into trouble in the past, but Ianto would never have her change. "Yes, but him being not so different from me was what she most likely held against him."

"I couldn't help but see she wasn't happy with him being there, but honestly…he was lost! That should have been the first priority for her once he'd explained himself."

"But you know that's how Gwen is," Jack sighed.

"Jack," Toshiko murmured, stepping a bit closer, "perhaps it would have been different if she'd been around during that Year. She hasn't grown the way the rest of us have. I think we've all simply left her in the dust, so to speak. I know you want to give her a chance to prove herself, but maybe it's time to let her go. I hate the idea of being a team member down…"

"This is her last chance," Jack said softly. "If she doesn't put her best foot forward on this, even if it turns out this isn't a Torchwood case, then she's on Hub duty permanently. She knows her way around the system enough to act as a coordinator for the outside team. And, if she manages to mess that up…then yes, I think it would be time to consider Retcon."

"The only problem is," Ianto added, "is that Gwen has now been with Torchwood long enough that such a large gap in memories could be the very thing that might trigger everything in coming back. Also…I want to meet Rhys."

Toshiko's eyes widened. "You think he might be Torchwood material?"

"I've no idea. But I'm hoping he might at least be able to rein Gwen in, if he's trustworthy enough to be brought into the circle of loved ones who are even just slightly involved."

"Look," Jack interrupted, "this is all fine and dandy, but we have a murder to try to solve. I'm going to get Gwen up and to the hospital to meet Owen. I want her to question the Hallorans, and Owen to sit on that other burglar until we can get something out of him."

He stepped away, pulling his mobile out. Ianto watched him, frowning. He knew how much this issue with Gwen was getting to his mate, and he was beginning to suspect that Jack was considering more than just losing what could be a decent field agent.

Gwen had been the first person Jack had hired on his own since Suzie had been kept after they'd evicted the others from Torchwood One forcefully from the Hub when they'd taken over. And what had happened to Suzie…well, Jack might not have come out and said it, but the dragon was beginning to guess what his mate could be thinking: that he was a failure, and that Torchwood was suffering from his bad decisions when it came to personnel.

Ianto wished he could reassure Jack that wasn't the case, since it had been his mate to have found Owen and he'd worked out brilliantly, but the dragon also knew that his mate's confidence had taken a big hit from the Doctor's attitude toward him as well. He really didn't think Jack would accept anything except from what he worked out on his own. And Ianto knew when to pick his battles.

"Tosh," he said, turning back to the technician, "let's not bring up Gwen again, at least not in this context, all right? We all know there are issues but it's up to Jack to decide what to do about her."

Toshiko nodded, accepting the mild rebuke. "Okay. But you know I'm right…the four of us have had too many things happen to us, and it's brought us all closer. Gwen's on the outside, looking in…and she doesn't even realise it. I'm not trying to justify her behaviour – she had absolutely no right to treat your counterpart with anything but compassion and respect – but there's such a gulf between us now, I just don't see how she can possibly fit in anymore. And, before you say anything, yes I know we had problems before the Toclafane, but she was actually starting to fit in. I can't help wondering if her changes in attitude have more to do with what she doesn't know, than what she does."

"Perhaps part of it," Ianto conceded, "but that doesn't explain her attitude beforehand." He glanced back over to his mate, who looked as resigned as he'd ever seen him. "We'll work it out. Now, we have a job to do."

Toshiko nodded, although the expression on her face told Ianto that she wanted to continue their conversation. At least she recognized the subject dismissal for what it was. "You're right, of course. Finding out what happened is more important right now."

Ianto was glad that she was dropping it, but he knew this was far from over. He only hoped that Gwen wouldn't distract from what they needed to do…even if she wasn't around.


End file.
